No Country For Old Men.
With Academy Awards for best Direction, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, and Overall Picture, a review from me will do little to sway a potential viewer in either a favorable or non-favorable direction. This fact, however, is irrelevant on the grounds that I don't care. Its not like I'm going to have a huge reading base anyway.
No Country For Old Men is the latest film from famed duo The Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan). Set in a 1980's based Texas, No Country is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. I don't know how the book reads, but let me say, that if the book is anywhere near as thrilling or gripping as the Coen Brothers' translation of it, pick that shit up. Now.
The film itself is set in a 1980's based Texas. Morals and ethics are key, especially in the small town-like theme that Sheriff Ed Tom Bell patrols. Bell is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones (Men In Black, In the Valley of Ellah) whose aging physical stature and experience as a hard-ass, no nonsense officer of the law blends well with Bell's struggle to maintain a sense of decency in the ever changing world around him. Bell could be defined as a "Good 'ol Boy" in a way. He represents tradition and justice, nothing new if you've seen a number of Jones' previous films, and the fading relevance that the old fashioned mind set plays in a world where evil walks the streets. Evil like Anton Chigurh.
Anton Chigurh represents something that modern films have been lacking for the better part of the new century; a real villain. In fact, villain may be a bit of a generalization and in reality, a slight against the true force that Chigurh is. He isn't just a villain, Anton Chigurh is ruthlessness defined. Forget every archetype ever thrown at you in a typical murder drama setting, Chigurh is Jason Voorhees with a shotgun. Masterfully portrayed by the (unheard of to me) Javier Bardem, Anton Chigruh may be one of the most frightening human beings ever committed to film. There's a reason Bardem took home an Oscar for his work and by all means, the man deserves it. From the moment Bardem steps onto the screen and you get a taste of his all too human demonic gaze, his place as one of the most horrifying villains of the 21st Century was cemented.
While Jones plays the films conscience of sorts and Bardem keeps the audience in their seat with unequaled portrayal of evil, the film itself relies on Josh Brolin (Planet Terror, American Gangster) to move forward. Brolin portrays Llewelyn Moss, welder a verteran of the Vietnam War who stumbles into a world of trouble.
Adventuring out into the empty abyss that is the vast Texas desert, Moss hunts for antelope. His scoped rifle is loud and effective at firing at the prey long distances away. Tagging his target he moves forward to track the wounded prey, a goal he does not accomplish. Traveling outward into the emptiness of the desert Moss stumbles upon a scene of carnage. A drug deal gone bad. Bodies litter the area, laying in blood stained masses of dry earth, surrounded by a fortress of trucks. Moss investigates, discovering the drugs and ventures out to find the lone survivor of the gun fight. Finding a case filled with millions of dollars from the deal left over and claiming it as his own, Moss enters into a world of trouble. The owners of the money aquires the services of Anton Chigurh to track down the money. A race begins as Chigurh leaves a river of bodies in his wake in search of the fleeing Moss and the millions of dollars he possesses with Bell hot on the trails of the entire happening.
No Country For Old Men is quite simply, one of the most effective films of modern society, if not of all time. Standing next to an impressive body of work like Coen Brothers possess, No Country more than holds it own as one of the best pieces they have ever filmed. What made Joel and Ethan right for the film is every reason that the film itself is so effective. Not only do the Coens have beautiful craftsmanship, as the film itself is shot with unmatched skill, but where the Coens really shine is characterization and story; which No Country has in spades. With three equally important main characters to focus on, one could easily loose balance and portray one of the three as the true protagonist. Not the Coens. At no point in the two epic do the three characters ever feel out of balance, each has their importance and their goals, and without sharing the screen much at all, Jones, Brolin, and Bardem's fates all feel tightly intertwined.
No Country itself is characterized by the surreal lack of a score. To many, the idea of a two hour movie set in a desolate setting like Texas without even a trace of real music to keep the viewer involved sounds like torture. It isn't. The Coens present the movie in such a way that music would almost seem out of place, like the silence itself is a character at times. Big money blockbusters use music to present a certain mood or feeling. The Coens use silence in this film more effectively than any blockbuster's two-hundred thousand dollar soundtrack ever could.
All of this isn't to say that No Country isn't without flaws, though there aren't many and they're subjective. The film runs long (by modern standards) and without a touch of music to hold the viewer's hand, the casual movie watcher may not be able to enjoy the wonderful piece of work that the film is. Of course, the argument could be made that this movie isn't for them. I'd agree.
The film's ending seems to be another point of discussion. I'm not going to give anything away, but some like the ending, some don't. Nothing that most movies without a predictable closing don't face, but with the entirety of the film being so strong, I could see some viewing the ending of the tale as a let down. I for one, liked the closing.
Overall, No Country For Old Men is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and might possibly be one of the best ever, at least to me. The Coen Brothers once again prove their seeming mastery of film with a movie that is gripping, thrilling, exciting, and unbelievable involving.
Grade: A
P.S. The writing of this was fueled by the album "White1" by Sunn O))), provided to me by my good friend Greg. Head on over to his music blog, "Life's A Bummer" for that album and many more quality recordings.
LIFE'S A BUMMER
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