No Country for Old Men (2007)

Directed by: Ethan and Joel Coen
Format: Theater
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald

There was only one movie nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture this year that I actually had the chance to see prior to the ceremony. However, if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen the same film. After all, No Country for Old Men may not have been the most hyped movie of 2007, but it walked away with the most statues.

Deep in the heart of Texas, Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) is shootin’ at some food, when he catches sight of an injured dog in his scope. Following the dog’s trail of blood back to its origin, he discovers a cluster of pickup trucks and a collection of fresh corpses. It appears to be the scene of a drug deal gone sour and when Llewelyn finds a suitcase full of money, he doesn’t stick around to ask the dead any questions. He’s a clever fellow and he knows that someone will be looking for the cash. What he doesn’t know is that the “someone” is Anton Chigurh (Bardem), and Anton Chigurh isn’t exactly the most well-balanced individual in town. In fact, during one of the earliest scenes, Anton gives us a good healthy dose of just how nuts he really is. You might laugh at the haircut, but hardly any who cross paths with the man is laughing, or ever will again.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought that Javier Bardem played an excellent hired killer. He did, after all, earn himself an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this role. I loved the cool brand of insanity he put forth as Anton. His character isn’t Mickey & Mallory crazy, but smooth and sinister like James Bond if he had roomed with John Wayne Gacy in college. Tommy Lee Jones plays the small town cop trying to get a handle on the madness involved with his new case. Jones is one of those actors, to me, who can be either really terrible, or fairly solid, depending on what movie he’s in. In this one, he does a good job. His character is basically just watching from the sidelines though and primarily works to help the audience glue the pieces together and reflect on the bigger picture. Harrelson appears in a brief role as Carson Wells, the second hit man sent out to recover the suitcase full of cash. But, he talks a big talk without backing it up with anything impressive. The only purpose I could see for Wells was as a foil for Chigurh; to offer up an example of another hired man for the main killer to contrast against. Although well played, I didn’t feel that Harrelson’s character was necessary. I was engrossed in Josh Brolin’s character most of all. Llewelyn had that “common man” appeal, but with an unexpected edge of cunning. So, he was easy to root for as the protagonist. Even though I thought Anton Chigurh was a force to be reckoned with, I kept hoping Moss would get the jump on him.

Ever since Raising Arizona, I’ve been enamored of the Coens’ filmmaking. As if that film isn’t already a fine example, they went on from there, directing Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski and Fargo (another Oscar winner). I could go on for ages about the other films I’ve enjoyed from their filmography. However, the Coens are not infallible. In 2000, there was O Brother, Where Art Thou? , which was thoroughly disappointing. When they fell short of the mark again in 2004 with The Ladykillers, I was beginning to think they’d lost their touch. But, then came No Country for Old Men. At last, my faith was restored! It has everything that I’d come to love from the Coens; good dialogue, interesting characters, and just a little touch of oddity. No Country also has a more ethereal theme that overlays the entire film.

Since I actually braved the theaters for this movie, I had the opportunity to judge crowd reaction to the film. During the majority of the picture, there wasn’t the usual obnoxious rustling of popcorn bags, inconsiderate glowing of cell phones or irritating chatting going on. There was only silence, as if everyone was on the edge of their seats. This tells me that the movie did a great job of holding everyone’s interest. At the conclusion of the movie, there was audibly disappointed gasping. Personally, I enjoy an open-ended finale from time to time. However, it seems that this audience (and maybe you as well) doesn’t approve of endings that don’t arrive in neatly tied-up packages.

Overall Rating: 5
Hottie Rating: 3 (for Javier and his voice)

Alternate viewing recommendation: Miller's Crossing
Official Site
IMDB Page
San Francisco Chronicle review

***Note: If you found this review via IMDB, please let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks!***