the coen brothers are back again , this time with homer's " odyssey " as the backdrop in their tale of three fugitives from a mississippi chain gang who trek across the south to find a secret treasure in " o brother , where art thou ? " 
right for the beginning of " o brother " the coens grab your attention with a chain gang of prison inmates breaking rocks along the road in unison to a work song . 
the camera flows around the hard toiling men , giving a visually exciting symmetry to the scene that ends with our three heroes - ulysses everett mcgill ( george clooney ) , delmar ( tim blake nelson ) and pete ( john turturro ) - escaping across a cotton field . 
it is the beginning of a journey that takes on different meanings and urgencies to each member of the trio . 
a strong suite , as always with the coen brothers , is the depth of character of the folks they create in their films . 
their characters are goofy and comical , like nicolas cage in " raising arizona " ; or , dramatic , as albert finney and john turturro in " miller's crossing " ; and , even a mix of the two with frances mcdormand in " fargo . " 
in all cases , and in " o brother , " too , the characters populating their films are three-dimensional people . 
ulysses everett is a handsome , hair-obsessed petty criminal with a silver tongue and not a lot in the brains department . 
but , he seems like a genius when compared to the simple , sweet delmar and the maladjusted pete , who follow their self appointed leader to a promised treasure of $1 . 2 million . 
their odyssey takes on the mystical proportions of homer's original material as they meet all manner of people along the way , including those dangerous sirens who beckon them onto symbolically rocky shoals and a cyclops who beats them and takes all their money . 
there is magic , too , when delmar believes that pete was turned into a horny toad by the sirens . 
the story meanders through the different vignettes of the boys' adventures , giving the flick a choppy , episodic feel that disrupts the overall flow . 
some of the interludes are an epiphany , though . 
the trio becomes a quartet when they pick up guitar-playing tommy johnson ( chris thomas king ) and visit a radio station in the middle of nowhere , run by its blind owner ( stephen root ) . 
they become the soggy bottom boys for the sightless radio station man and , without their knowledge , are recorded as they sing the traditional tune , " i am a man of constant sorrow . " 
it is a wonderful moment of moviemaking and gives us , in my mind , the best movie song of the year . 
contrasting this and other wonderful moments ( the sexy seduction by the sirens comes to mind ) are some pretentious bits that detract from the overall quality of " o brother . " 
in particular , near the end , is a scene where ulysses , delmar and pete crash a ku klux klan rally to save tommy from being lynched . 
the scene is overblown and flashy and reeks of " the wizard of oz . " 
they don't say " lions and tigers and bears , oh my ! " 
and there's no dorothy , but it is the land of oz we're seeing here . 
the highs and lows of the story flow are tempered by fine acting on several levels . 
george clooney is funny , charming , a little dumb and one of the handsomest actors in the business today . 
he has the charm of a 30's movie idol and is able to put himself into silly situations with dignity . 
ulysses has an ongoing obsession with his hair , risking life and limb to get a particular brand of pomade and a supply of hairnets . 
his vanity will come to plague him as it would any mystical hero-wanderer . 
while clooney is the name draw for " o brother , " the show stealer is tim blake nelson as delmar . 
the heretofore unknown nelson is terrific as the simple convict who , at one point , hears the word of the lord and joins members of a church congregation in their mass baptism . 
delmar is saved and dedicates his life to doing good and provides a richness to his simple character that makes him shine . 
the taciturn pete , as played by longtime coen collaborator turturro , is the sullen member of the trio and gives them the necessary angst . 
all together , the tuneful triumvirate is a mix of the three stooges and the three musketeers as they prove to be buffoons , albeit brave ones . 
the colorful supporting cast is rampant with homerian characters to meet and get to know along the way of the boys' odyssey . 
charles durning appears as incumbent governor pappy o'daniel , who keeps crossing paths with them in his bid for re-election . 
john goodman is wicked as the one-eyed bible salesman and con artist , big dan teague . 
michael badalucco is manic and outrageous as outlaw and bank robber extraordinary , george " babyface " nelson . 
stephen root is amusing as the blind dj , rep'ing one of the many references to the sightless that abound in the film in mystical ways . 
holly hunter is wasted in the small role as ulysses' estranged wife , penny ( and the real reason for this adventure , not secret treasure ) . 
techs are , as expected in a coen brothers venture , first class . 
cinematographer roger deakins , who has worked on five previous coen films , captures the sultry atmosphere of the south . 
the photography complements the lush period production and costume provided by dennis gassner and mary zophres , respectively . 
once again , roderick jaynes - the alter ego of ethan and joel coen - is on board as editor . 
the high points outweigh the low through most of " o brother , where art thou ? " 
with particular praise for the wonderful selection of period and traditional music . 
i give it a b .