Hail, Caesar!

Story

Hail, Caesar! is a Coen brothers comedy set in Hollywood in the 1950s. It follows a chaotic day in the life of ‘fixer’ Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) as he tries to solve the actors’ and the studio’s problems and keep scandals at bay. In one day he deals with a pedantic director (Ralph Fiennes), an actress’s indiscretion (Scarlett Johansson), a dancer with a secret (Channing Tatum), and two nosey journalists (both played by Tilda Swinton). But when movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes missing, Eddie realises that he might be in over his head.

Themes

The 1950s Hollywood scene; religion; communism and the campaigns against it; kidnapping; alcohol and nicotine dependence

Violence

There is some violence in Hail, Caesar!. For example:

Eddie slaps a man and a girl in the face several times.
In some of the movies that Eddie is watching, a man is whipped by a roman soldier and a cowboy shoots at another cowboy.
Baird is drugged and kidnapped by a group of men. After the initial kidnapping he’s treated well.

Sexual references

Hail, Caesar! has some sexual references. For example:

Characters flirt mildly.
An unmarried woman gets pregnant and doesn’t know who the father is.
There is a suggestion that an actor slept with a director to get a part.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Hail, Caesar! shows some use of substances. For example:

Characters smoke a lot. Eddie is trying to quit smoking but has a few cigarettes.
In several scenes adults drink socially at parties and at dinner.
People talk about an actor who is ‘drying out’ in rehab and another actor who has gone on a ‘bender’.
Two men spike another man’s drink, which makes the man pass out.

Nudity and sexual activity

Hail, Caesar! has some partial nudity. For example, women wear revealing clothing that shows cleavage.

Product placement

None

Coarse language

Hail, Caesar! has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Hail, Caesar! is a comedy set in the 1950s. It presents an inside look at the chaos of show business and the way that studios at the time worked to avoid scandals with their stars.

The movie includes coarse language, substance use and themes that are more likely to interest older audiences – for example, the politics of the time. Therefore we don’t recommend this movie for children under 12 years, and we do recommend parental guidance for children aged 12-14 years.

The main message from this movie is that you should do what you love rather than what’s easy.

Values in this movie you could reinforce with your children include loyalty and hard work.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like telling lies and keeping secrets, and when it might be appropriate to keep a secret.