NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
In The Heat Of A Bloody Night Between An Irresistible
Force and An Immovable Object, A Sheriff Who's Seen It All
The Popcorn Reel Film Review: "No Country For Old Men"
By Omar P.L. Moore/November 9, 2007
Grainy and faded memories of danger and the mundane: Tommy Lee Jones, brilliant
as Terrell County Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, in the Coen Brothers film "No Country
For Old Men", which is adapted from Carmac McCarthy's book of the same title.
The remarkable new film opened today in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
(Photos: Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage)
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They say "don't mess with Texas", but the Coen Brothers obviously didn't
listen -- which is just fine because Joel Coen and Ethan Coen have crafted a
motion picture in "No Country For Men" that is as technically proficient and
close to flawless as any released this year. The film, based on Carmac McCarthy's novel, is
centered in West Texas, specifically Terrell County (the city with the same
county name
is Jamie Foxx country), in the 1980's. As adapted for the screen by
Messrs. Coen and Coen, the film tells the story of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Texas's own Tommy
Lee Jones), a man who's seen far too much to still be occupying his position as
Terrell County's top dog in law enforcement. Good Ole Sheriff Ed carries
no gun but he possesses wit, droll humor and a suffocating world-weariness, as
one crime too many has come to town over his 25 years in the job.
Typically those crimes are labeled trouble with a capital T, and Anton Chigurh
(Javier Bardem) is all trouble, and looking for the kind of suitcase the
interior of which viewers of "Pulp Fiction" won't need to wonder about.
They, by the way, also say that money makes the world go round, and for
Anton, a psychotic killer on a bloody rampage, Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is
the fly that got in the ointment that Anton was about to rub in his own
money-void wound.
Moss, a quietly resolute and steadfast fellow, has his own ideas about money and
his devoted wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald), and the Coens have a splendid way to play these
three male characters like fiddles who are playing tunes the others can faintly
hear in the distance, even though the sounds are nothing if not ominous.
At times immense violence and priceless silences rage throughout this film, which
stays deep within your psyche for at least a couple of days after you've seen
it. Even if you aren't immediately able to talk about "No Country For Old
Men" after its conclusion, chances are you will have been thinking about it, for
it is that powerful and indelible a cinematic experience. Though set in 1980, the film's visual style, pacing, dialogue and visceral
punch are more in the vein of a 1970's film, its violence as brazenly
unrepentant and unpredictable as that seen in a Sam Peckinpaw movie. Some
of "No Country" looks and feels like "Straw Dogs" without the
violations visited upon Susan George, whose film character was controversially
ambiguous during them. And Dustin Hoffman wouldn't have survived the
battle royal on display here, for this "Country" is more befitting of a wild
bunch of characters, including one whose later presence will be made via a
certain
actor who will steal scenes for his time in the sun. After all of the
hoopla, one will observe that the Coen Brothers have constructed
their best film to date, and given the brilliance of "Fargo" and "O Brother
Where Art Thou?" that's saying more than just a little bit. The
cinematography here is splendorous, thanks going to Roger Deakins (who also
skillfully shot the abysmal "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward
Robert Ford") for lensing Texas in all its stark, expansive and hotly oppressive
gravitas. Hot diggitty dawg! You can almost smell the sawdust.
Money, money, money, always bloody, in a sick man's world: Javier Bardem as
Anton Chigurh and Josh Brolin as Llewellyn Moss, in "No Country For Old Men",
directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
"No Country For Old Men", as earlier indicated, recognizes that silence is golden
as well as uncomfortable, as feelings of guilty pleasure snake through the
course of this two-hour journey of deliberation. The screenplay is
rendered with the most modest of structures, yet that framework is air-tight in
its narrative. We go from A to B to C and get there ingeniously, not
predictably. And even though Mr. McCormac's novel is inevitably more
detailed, it is wise to see this film prior to reading the book because
the action that grips the Coens' film is not just there for action's sake. There
is meaning, there is parable, a fairy tale of sorts behind the menace and
relentlessness of Anton, an insane, incredible and immovable object, a Wile E.
Coyote who pursues an immature, invincible and irresistible force in Llewellyn,
a Wile E. Coyote Jr. Heck, Jack and The Beanstalk wasn't as much fun as
this, but then again that fable wasn't dipped in blood from time to time, either.
In "No Country For Old Men" even the smallest of actions, the most incidental of
conversations, and the subtlest of encounters have consequences and are draped
in suspense. The Coens' cameras show us everything without telling us
anything. Nothing is explained, nothing more about the characters is known
than is necessary -- and these two fraternal filmmakers take their
audiences seriously. Even so, beneath the harsh and gritty veneer there is
a lot of humor, much of it from awkward situations or random dialogue. The film's trajectory is
astounding -- we feel the things that Sheriff Ed is thinking or feeling, and it
is amazing to behold. We also get a sense of the platforms that Anton and
Llewellyn stand on as well as they participate in a traveling "Duel In The Sun",
if you will. Throughout this amazing film, we never feel that we are being
manipulated or that an air of pretension has ever seeped into the film.
Above all, the acting is remarkable. Tommy Lee Jones, excellent this year
in "In The Valley Of Elah", is even better here as the Sheriff. He spouts
the musings and inner dialogue of a man breezily disconnected from his job, with
its long-since faded prestige threatening to make him irrelevant and just plain
insignificant. Mr. Jones has one or two especially priceless lines, and he
will be assured a supporting actor Academy Award nomination for his turn come
January, if not for his lead role in Paul Haggis's "Elah". Josh Brolin is
a good bet to be nominated as well for his role as Llewellyn Moss. Mr.
Brolin (who is also likely to be nominated for his supporting work in the
current film "American Gangster") lends Llewellyn a mix of rebel-like
invincibility and sly-fox intelligence. His character is a largely silent
and solitary one, even with the presence of his onscreen wife Carla Jean, whom
he'd run through a brick wall for. As Anton, Javier Bardem is chilling and
charming. At times he is scary and jarring as the ice-cold sociopath who
wants the money that was taken from him. Unlike Llewellyn, Anton has a lot
of company -- but he just likes to leave much of it behind as he goes.
(Mr. Bardem will be seen next week in North America on the big screen in "Love
In The Time Of Cholera", and he delivers in Mike Newell's film as an obsessed
lover whose love goes unrequited for many years. Either of these obsessive
characters could also be recognized in the nomination sweepstakes by the
Academy.)
"No Country For Old Men" never sells any of its characters short.
It is a sophisticated and clever film. Stylistically there are
point-of-view shots one expects that never arrive. Although the Coen
Brothers may not have made a film that all audiences can sit through, they have
triumphed on a very high level with a movie that all who see it will certainly
think through. "No Country For Old Men" has a triple-story structure in
its narrative that is both subtle and strong. For all its brilliance,
intimacy, edginess and genuine power, this film reaches a plateau that few other
films this year will ever hope to reach. This is a guaranteed best picture
Oscar nominee in January.
"No Country For Old Men" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
for strong bloody graphic violence and language. The film's duration is
two hours and two minutes.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2007. All Rights
Reserved.
Audio Page Extra: Josh Brolin Talks To
The Popcorn Reel about Llewellyn Moss
PopcornReel.com Feature Story: The
Busy Celluloid World of Josh Brolin