Morgan BellREVIEW: No Country For Old Men
March 10th 2008 09:32
Directed & Written: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Ladykillers) from the novel by Cormac McCarthy
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones (Under Siege, The Fugitive, The Missing), Josh Brolin (American Gangster, Into The Blue, Hollow Man), Javier Bardem (Goyas Ghosts, Collateral), Kelly MacDonald (Gosford Park)
This film is on every list as the film of the year, critically acclaimed by film experts, it is an adaptation of the work of a Pulitzer prize winning novelist, the latest product of the Oscar winning Coen brothers, so I expected something really astounding. Instead No Country is a slow moving think-piece with no real climax or resolutions. If you are looking for a movie with a satisfying ending this is not the film for you. It is bleak and somber, and oh so silent (there is no background music) and we watch one man hunt another through Texas and New Mexico in 1980 over a suitcase full of money. Fargo had similar moral tones but was executed in a far more audience-friendly way. The pursuit of money at all costs makes us all inhuman and leads to our demise. Here we have Tommy Lee Jones playing an old tired sheriff who is loosely following the spate of killings left behind in the trail of this money, he spends the whole film contemplating whether the scope and brutality of these crimes is a new kind of evil that cannot be understood or whether cruel and unusual murder is an age old trait of mankind which surpasses the generations and must be simply accepted. The killer is named Chigurh (Bardem) and he is relentlessly hunting trailer-park-dwelling Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss (Brolin). Chigurh is frighteningly calm, cleverly spoken, near-indestructible, and eccentric with a moral code of his own, serving up death like an inevitable duty. There is endless symbolism about chance with the toss of a coin used to torment his victims. No Country can be technically appreciated for cinematography, filmmaking craft, rich characters, and an incredibly talented cast. It will no doubt be a fascinating subject for film students to pick apart and write an academic essay or thesis. But unfortunately the plot is essentially a cat and mouse chase with a real fizzle for an ending which will probably leave you saying "what the . . .?!"
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones (Under Siege, The Fugitive, The Missing), Josh Brolin (American Gangster, Into The Blue, Hollow Man), Javier Bardem (Goyas Ghosts, Collateral), Kelly MacDonald (Gosford Park)
This film is on every list as the film of the year, critically acclaimed by film experts, it is an adaptation of the work of a Pulitzer prize winning novelist, the latest product of the Oscar winning Coen brothers, so I expected something really astounding. Instead No Country is a slow moving think-piece with no real climax or resolutions. If you are looking for a movie with a satisfying ending this is not the film for you. It is bleak and somber, and oh so silent (there is no background music) and we watch one man hunt another through Texas and New Mexico in 1980 over a suitcase full of money. Fargo had similar moral tones but was executed in a far more audience-friendly way. The pursuit of money at all costs makes us all inhuman and leads to our demise. Here we have Tommy Lee Jones playing an old tired sheriff who is loosely following the spate of killings left behind in the trail of this money, he spends the whole film contemplating whether the scope and brutality of these crimes is a new kind of evil that cannot be understood or whether cruel and unusual murder is an age old trait of mankind which surpasses the generations and must be simply accepted. The killer is named Chigurh (Bardem) and he is relentlessly hunting trailer-park-dwelling Vietnam vet Llewelyn Moss (Brolin). Chigurh is frighteningly calm, cleverly spoken, near-indestructible, and eccentric with a moral code of his own, serving up death like an inevitable duty. There is endless symbolism about chance with the toss of a coin used to torment his victims. No Country can be technically appreciated for cinematography, filmmaking craft, rich characters, and an incredibly talented cast. It will no doubt be a fascinating subject for film students to pick apart and write an academic essay or thesis. But unfortunately the plot is essentially a cat and mouse chase with a real fizzle for an ending which will probably leave you saying "what the . . .?!"
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Comment by spain01
Juan Carlos
spain again
While your'e about it
Viva l'difference
Fire News Blog
Cities dying of thirst.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
you have raised many interesting points for thought and discussion, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!
it seems this is one of those polarising films that people either love or hate. i also found the film adaptation of "All The Pretty Horses" excruciatingly slow paced and dull so i acknowledge that perhaps cormac mccarthy is just not the writer for me.
i do however totally agree with you that it is fantastic to see "arts" films achieving mainstream success, recognition and distribution, and javier bardems performance was well deserving of an oscar.
i just felt as an overall film experience "No Country For Old Men" was not as enjoyable as films like "Crash" or "Adaptation" or "Gosford Park" which also had surprising plots and used unconventional structures.
different strokes for different folks i guess . . .
Comment by Geoff Egan
Cinema XYZ
Noise Fanatic
Funny you should mention Crash. I really didn't like it that much. Seemed like the racial rension was over the top. I know that was the whole point of the movie, but getting so psyched up about someone not being able to fix your doorknob seemed a bit rediculous.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
i think he was more annoyed about his store and livelihood getting trashed and because he felt humiliated by the racist grafitti and victimised by the unfairness of the situation so he projected his anger on to the doorknob installer . . . perhaps it still was a bit extreme, but i think the idea was intolerance breeds more intolerance . . . i liked thandi newton in that film, and even sandra bullock, some of the dialogue was really punchy . . .
you should see all the "No Country For Old Men" hatred in Cibbuanos 20/20 Filmsight blog comments . . . now thats extreme!
heres the link:
Cibbuanos 20/20 Fiilmsight review of No Country For Old Men
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
I think viewers were expecting something going in, and they liked the tense action parts of the film, but, ultimately, felt let down by Tommy Lee and the ending.
I thought the ending was excellent, amoral and indiscriminate, and I'd like to sit through it again!
Worth watching on the big screen for the fantastic landscapes.
Comment by Geoff Egan
Cinema XYZ
Noise Fanatic