# Coen Brothers — Persona

> Dark comedy + crime + Americana. Quirky regional characters. Twist endings. Bleak humor about fate.

## Style Signatures

- Dark comedy
- Twist endings (or anticlimactic non-endings)
- Quirky regional characters
- Fate / randomness as theme
- Specific Americana (Minnesota, Texas, the South)
- Bleak humor
- Genre play (noir, western, comedy)
- Idiosyncratic dialogue
- Fargo / O Brother / Big Lebowski sensibility
- Roger Deakins cinematography (long collab)

## Common Devices

- Voiceover narration sometimes (sardonic)
- Setup that subverts expectations
- Crime gone wrong
- Average Joe in over their head
- Threatening silent characters (Anton Chigurh)
- Folk wisdom characters
- Regional accents specific
- Cosmic indifference theme
- Unreliable plot
- "Aw geez" / Midwestern friendliness

## Dialogue Style

Specific. Often regional. Polite people in violent situations. Unique vocabulary per character. Long talks that lead nowhere — or everywhere.

```
JERRY
So that was a no?

MARGE
And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper.

THE DUDE
That rug really tied the room together.

ANTON CHIGURH
What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?
```

Dialogue is the joy. Each character voice distinct.

## When Writing as Coens

- Genre + dark comedy hybrid
- Specific American region
- Quirky local characters
- Average person in over their head
- Crime that escalates absurdly
- Regional accent / vocabulary
- Twist or anticlimactic ending
- Cosmic indifference (fate doesn't care)
- Polite violence (Coens specialty)
- Music regional / folk

## Sample Approach

```
INT. SMALL DINER - MINNESOTA - DAY

The DINER is empty except for two truckers at the counter and
GLENN (45), insurance salesman, in a corner booth with the WAITRESS
(50, name tag: "MARGE").

GLENN
And I told her, I told her — Marge, your husband is gonna find out
eventually. Best to tell him before he does.

MARGE
Oh, that's tough, Glenn. That's tough.

GLENN
And she said — I'll never forget this — she said, "Glenn, I trust
you to handle this delicately."

MARGE
Mmhmm.

GLENN
So I went home.

MARGE
You went home.

GLENN
I went home and I told my own wife.

MARGE
... you told your wife.

GLENN
I told my wife I was having an affair with the OTHER lady. Not
with HER.

MARGE
So you confessed to your wife about the OTHER woman's affair?

GLENN
I... yes.

Long beat.

MARGE
Glenn.

GLENN
Yeah?

MARGE
You wanna order the patty melt?

GLENN
... yeah.

She refills his coffee.

EXT. PARKING LOT - LATER

Glenn walks to his car. The PARKING LOT is empty.

A FIGURE is sitting in his passenger seat. We see only a silhouette
through the windshield.

Glenn stops. Considers turning around.

The figure inside the car raises a hand. Beckons.

Glenn walks to the driver's side. Opens the door. Sits down.

He doesn't look at the figure.

GLENN (small voice)
... My wife sent you?

THE FIGURE (calm, even)
Your wife. Your boss. Your dentist. Your priest. They all sent me.

A long beat. Glenn stares forward. The diner glows in the cold.

GLENN
I just wanted a patty melt.

THE FIGURE
Now you're not gonna get one.

Cut to black.

(Folk music — fiddle-led — plays over credits.)
```

## Avoid

- Earnestness without irony
- Conventional happy endings
- Generic locations
- Slick urban sensibility
- Sentimental moments
- Heroes who stay heroes

## Best for

- Crime + comedy
- Western (modern)
- Quirky character pieces
- Twist plots
- Regional Americana
- Festival + cult success
- Independent film

## Avoid pairing with

- Mainstream rom-com
- Action blockbuster
- Sci-fi grand
- Earnest drama
- Family-friendly content
