Do you have to watch The Big Lebowski?Yes

I discovered The Big Lebowski last year, and I regret not having watched it sooner. It all started because, for almost two years now, I’ve been watching more films sometimes even while I work (when I can). I set myself the goal of watching, if possible, one movie a day, and over this time I’ve really expanded my repertoire.

The Dude’s movie completely blew my mind, so I decided to do some small studies both of the characters and of specific shots to dive in and better understand the brilliance of this comedy.

There’s one idea I think is worth highlighting, and it has to do with “attitude.” The characters’ charisma comes from their attitude from how seriously they take their own worldviews. It doesn’t matter if, in the eyes of others, they’re seen as “losers”; internally, they’re built like true badasses.

One thing I really love about the aesthetic is how chaos, noise, and dirtiness become beautiful they pull you into an almost poetic atmosphere. Even though the White Russian looks kind of gross, I have to admit I’ve never tried one, and just because of this movie, I kind of want to.

When I finished watching The Big Lebowski, it felt like I’d also taken a character development class. The construction of each character is masterful—you can tell the Coen brothers know every detail of their lives: goals, quirks, pasts, possibilities, and, above all, their levels of conflict and personality triggers.

Do you have to watch The Big Lebowski? Yes—for the comedy, as a civic duty, for the love of cinema, and also as a kind of vaccine against the anxiety these times bring.

Some studies.