No Country For Old Men December 17, 2007
Posted by batduck in Movies, Reviews.trackback
No Country For Old Men
Joel Coen, Director
One star. (of a possible four)
Web Site Description:
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a mesmerizing new thriller from Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, based on the acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning American master, Cormac McCarthy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. Featuring a cast that includes Academy Award®-winner Tommy Lee Jones (THE FUGITIVE, MEN IN BLACK), Josh Brolin (GRINDHOUSE), Academy Award®-nominee Javier Bardem (THE SEA INSIDE), Academy Award®-nominee Woody Harrelson (THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT) and Kelly Macdonald (TRAINSPOTTING), NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is written for the screen and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, produced by Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, and executive produced by Robert Graf and Mark Roybal.
The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (BROLIN) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law – in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (JONES) – can contain. As Moss tries to evade his pursuers – in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives (BARDEM) – the film simultaneously strips down the American crime drama and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible, and as bloodily contemporary as this morning’s headlines.
From Batduck:
In a word? Awful. The story was very slow going, but I don’t have a problem with that itself. My problem is that it never goes *anywhere*. There seemed to be some sort of pseudo philosophical theme with the Tommy Lee Jones character, but it was sort of out of left field. The film builds up the story of the Josh Brolin character and then decides to drop it at the drop of a dime and focus on another character’s story. One that you don’t really care about.
To quote the woman who sat behind me when the credits began to roll….”What the F****?!?”
Huh, I guess that means that just about every critic on the planet is wrong. Huh.
I personally thought that this film is a masterwork. Maybe you just don’t have the patience for it. It’s not Die Hard, man. I’m not really sure where you’re coming from with all the negativity: Josh Brolin’s character is never dropped – have you ever read a book? Sometimes you have to move away from one character to find out what other characters are doing.
As far as the ending – I thought it was perfect. Did you really expect them to wrap everything up with a tidy little bow? Among other things, it’s a movie about good vs evil, aging, and death: what did you expect?
Well, I’ll start off by saying that my opinion is purely my own. Perhaps the movie truly is a masterpiece and it’s just beyond my capacity, but I stand by my feelings towards it.
To be fair, I had just come back from the theater and the bad taste was still fresh in my mouth. It did have its strengths, though. Cinematography? Superb. Acting? Excellent. I truly cared for the fate of Moss and his wife…even the character of his mother-in-law (a minor character) was entertaining in her portrayal. My biggest beef is that for an hour and 45 minutes they build up this bond between the viewer and Moss and his family and then say “aww….shucks, never mind all that…the movie is REALLY about Sheriff Bell”. He waxes poetic about his father and there’s a deep philosophical message there. I know that, but by that point, I really didn’t care.
What did I expect from the film? Not a thing. I hadn’t read a thing about it other than watching the preview online. (and we all know how little those really tell you about a film) I certainly wasn’t expecting a nice little bow on top with a happy ending, but at least *some* closure would have been nice.
Thanks for your comments. They’re very much appreciated, and I hope that I didn’t come off as too argumentative.
I welcome your comments on future reviews.
Oh….and Happy Holidays!
Nevermind! I found it!