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No Country for Old Men
Posted: Nov 23, 2007 in Things to do, Culture, Movies
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Tell me we're not just going to talk about the ending...
No Country for Old Men ultimately gave us 4 good things.
We have now been introduced to Anton Chigurh, an amazing villain of Hannibal Lecter status. His darkness is powerful. He provides no more than a flintch as he and his cattle gun kill their way down the path of reclaiming a briefcase filled with missing drug money.
Tommy Lee Jones, playing Sheriff Ed Bell, provides a brilliant portrayal of the "good guys", but not in the typical fashion...and really his perspective gives the film its purpose. We get the feeling that at one point in time, Sheriff Bell meant something in his town, but not these days. His role is no longer respected, thus why his efforts of "getting the bad guys" are lacking. He doesn't jump into his cop car for a high speed chase, he takes his wife's horse out. He's not fighting for good, rather he's assisting to the lesser of two evils. Even the character we find ourselves somewhat rooting for (Llewelyn Moss) is an outlaw..taking $2 million of drug money for his own keeping.
Great balance of noise/action with quiet/still. For every minute of film that's packed with sawed off shotgun shells firing at men already covered in blood stains, there is an equally calm moment of dull Texas landscape or coversation over a cup of coffee. The Cohen brothers covered this film with climax, but allowed time for taking deep breaths..not too much "edge of the seat", not too much "maybe now is a good time to get a refill".
Okay..the ending. It's not Hollywood..sorry, but that's what makes this film good. You won't walk out thinking, oh great, the bad guy got caught..or oh neat-o, the good guy got the girl. Nope, not even close. I encourage you to see this, and walk out thinking: What would I do with $2million of cleary dangerous and dirty money? If you would turn it in, putting more value on the safety of you and your family's lives, then Tommy Lee Jones doesn't retire. If you would toss your hat into the ring, take chance at losing your life, and potentially watching your entire family take a leathal steel bolt via a cattle gun to the forehead, for $2million, then Sheriff Bell hangs up his hat, and starts looking for land in Florida.
I saw "No Country for Old Men" for a second time today (first time was a preview screening) at the Kerasotes on the southside. At the end, so many people in the theater (it was really full at 10:50 a.m.) loudly groaned and griped about the ending. It was great. I loved hearing it. This is a movie that makes people think. And most people hate that. It made me think even more as I caught several new things the second time around.
I like the comparison between Chigurh and Hannibal Lecter, however, I compare him to The Terminator. He seemed inhuman, absolutely no compassion for any of his victims and absolutely no remorse after killing them. That man scared me to death!
Throughout the entire movie I expected Moss to give up the money (realize his and his wife's lives were more important than money)...or get away. I expected Chigurh to get caught. I thought he'd die in the car accident at the end. But, I was consistently wrong in my expectations.
The ending stunned me. Not necessarily the events (that my expectations were unmet), but I'm so used to dialogue ending and showing some sort of scenery as the movie fades out and the audience figures out what's happened before they leave the theater. With this movie, that abrupt ending, dialogue ends the screen goes black it was like they said, "Okay, movie's over, get outta here, figure it out on your own."
I may have to see it again, too.
Dawn, I like your comparison of Chigurh to The Terminator.
I'm going to admit that I'm at a loss as to the ending. It snuck up on me so quickly I didn't have time to properly digest it. I'm going to catch it again sometime (perhaps not until DVD, though), at which time I'll feel more comfortable speaking about it.
I will note that I loved the way the Coens filmed that car crash at the end. (WARNING: MILD SPOILERS) You know when you see that interior of the car shot that there's going to be a crash, but they framed the shot from the passenger seat (showing you the background through the driver's window), but had the impact from behind the camera. Most movies nowadays who use that shot want to show you the car approaching, but the Coens went the other way. It was startling and wonderfully done.
What a great movie....goes right up there (when it comes out in DVD) on the shelf with Fargo, Apocalypse Now, The Deerhunter, and all the Sopranos seasons. Tommy Lee Jones is his usual terrific self and Chigurh is the ultimate bad ass (but with a sense of humor). Even the bit part actors are exceptional. The trailer says is right, "instant classic". Go see this one.