The Coen brothers latest star-studded film “Hail, Caesar!” cleverly tells a compelling and oddly timeless story.

The film, which takes places in the 1950s, follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a “fixer” for a big movie studio. Mannix’s problems can go from casting someone in a film to helping an actress divorce her lousy husband. The problem this movie revolves around is the abduction of big movie star Baird Whitlock (played by George Clooney), but getting Whitlock back is not the only problem we see Mannix try to solve. Mannix also has to deal with the country-bumpkinesque actor Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich), the unwed, pregnant actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson), and with his own potentially life-changing decision. It would’ve been really easy for the Coens to make these side characters one-dimensional, but they all felt real. In the case of Eddie Mannix, audiences might expect a real macho man or the jerk with a heart of gold or the workaholic dad with the best intentions, the typical male protagonist, but Eddie is better than that, more complex and likeable. These characters and their plotlines come together to tell an interesting story with universal themes and questions (like religion and “what makes a job worthwhile?”) in a funny and entertaining way.

Since much of the takes place at Capitol Studios, where Eddie Mannix works, some of the scenes within the film are actually snippets from other films, from westerns to water ballets, being made. Because of this the “Hail, Caesar!” features different styles of cinematography, which makes the film visually interesting. This also makes for a very diverse, but still beautiful, film score.

Overall the film has a good story, likeable characters, and relatable moments that make it well worth the ticket price. “Hail, Caesar!” gets 4 out of 5 stars and is now showing at all major theaters.

By Sienna Mata