The Coens have always had a knack for creating memorable characters. The baby-stealing H.I. McDunnough (Nicolas Cage) from Raising Arizona, the efficient and pregnant policewoman Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) from Fargo, and the entire cast of The Big Lebowski all come to mind. Hobie Doyle manages to become more than just an exhilarating and funny side character, though. He joins the ranks of H.I., Marge, and the Dude as one of the Coen's great heroes. And Doyle never could have worked as a character without Ehrenreich.

Entering the star-studded movie, Ehrenreich seemed like the unlikely hero. Not only does his do-good star Doyle come across as more of a confused pushover, but Ehrenreich himself surprises as the one who ties the threads of the movie together stronger than even Brolin’s Eddie Mannix. When his back is against the wall, however, and even Mannix, the studio fixer, doesn’t know how to fix the problem of returning their kidnapped movie star, Hobie jumps into action. He bails on one of the cutest dates of all time with Carlotta Valdez (Veronica Osorio) -- which includes spaghetti lassos and two young stars hitting it off -- to track down the missing star.

I’d be stretching to say the movie turns serious when Hobie begins his hunt. Hail, Caesar! Constantly flirts with the absurd. Yet when Hobie begins to drive to the coast, the Coens fix a camera on his face. The weight of the moment relies almost entirely on Ehrenreich as shots of Hollywood streets are superimposed across his face and windshield determining him to not be the reflection of the facades, but to be the one breaking through the facades and revealing a true, determined self. The montage is followed by the another serious moment in the film as Mannix, a man struggling with his Catholic faith in spite of his job, approaches the fake cross, set-up for the scenes of Jesus’s crucifixion, and has a seemingly spiritual experience in this space between his two worlds: the Church and Hollywood.

Hobie Doyle emerges as the hero in a world that he thought he could just skirt through. This reminds me of Han’s journey in the first Star Wars. While Hobie is never openly opposed to helping others (he just comes across as unknowing), Han entirely neglects his companions only to return in the last moments to be the hero the galaxy needed. In both cases, the true self and their true drive pushes through their defensive exterior to reveal a hero with a burdened heart.