Suburbicon (2017) * * *

Directed by:  George Clooney

Starring:  Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Oscar Isaac, Noah Jupe, Karimah Westbrook, Leith M. Burke, Gary Basaraba

George Clooney's Suburbicon is part Coen Brothers lite (the movie was co-written by them) with Clooney's own social commentary inserted, or more like shoehorned in.    These two plots do not co-exist well, in fact they distract from each other, but once the movie starts working a rhythm, it gains steam and the ending neatly dovetails things after all. 

In order not to give away many spoilers, I will proceed with the plot lightly.    Suburbicon opens with an advertisement for the fictional town of Suburbicon, State unknown, but surely west of Connecticut.    The 1950;s suburban town is idyllic, clean, quiet, and lily white.    This all changes with the arrival of the town's first black family, the Meyers.    Fear manifests itself first in the from of stares, then grumblings, then the neighbors' building of a tall fence (no doubt an allusion to Trump's fabled wall), the overt racism, then demonstrations, followed by violence and riots.  Just when we think we will have an allegorical story reflecting today's troubled political climate, we see Gardner Lodge (Damon). his wife Rose (Moore), her sister Margaret (also Moore), and their son Nick (Jupe), tied up and chloroformed in their kitchen.    Rose dies, with Margaret quickly (maybe too quickly) replacing her late sister in the family unit.    We sense this is not a random burglary, as does Nick, who thinks things are awfully strange around the Lodge residence.    Soon, a suspicious insurance investigator (Isaac) comes snooping around with alarming accusations and even more interesting plot developments.  

This is stuff the Coen Brothers could write in their sleep, but it is still the most entertaining portion of the movie, likely because there is more to the story than what's on the surface.    The same could be said about Suburbicon itself, and if you follow Clooney's leanings, about America itself.     The idea of ugliness and racism bubbling just under the surface of a seemingly jolly suburban town is not new.     With Trump's election, such ugliness has found its way to the surface quickly, although this is not exclusive to the present period.    People will forever accept change very, very slowly, based on fear and ignorance.    

What Clooney presents is two versions of the darker side of people, even if they seem to clash.   Damon's Gardner is an upper management stiff who appears to be hiding something underneath that unwavering upper lip.    The other performances more or less do the job, without any standouts except for Isaac, whose very presence steals scenes.    It is a curious choice by Clooney to keep things muted with anger lurking just out of view.    If anything, Suburbicon is an angry, cynical film for all but the final thirty seconds or so.    Then, the film presents a scene of healing and hope, which belies all that went before it, but showing us Clooney isn't entirely cynical at long last.    Suburbicon is not a perfect effort, but it is never boring.