The Dude abides

The Coen brothers have made numerous films, many of which I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen, but I refuse to believe that any of them can be as good as The Big Lebowski, my introduction to their genius back in 1998. With the movie celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its release, the Independent's Darren Richman has looked back at the brilliance of a film that at the time seemed a willfully perverse way to follow up their big-time breakthrough Fargo but that has quite rightly earned cult status.

From the rambling plot, to the scene construction, to the dialogue, to the interplay between the Dude, Walter and Donnie, to the bit-part characters (John Turturro's Jesus in particular), there is nothing not to love about the movie - except, perhaps, the fact that it has to have an ending.