No Country For Old Men

[RobertR]

We've been dancing around the ending in other discussions, so people not interested in spoilers beware.

 

It's clear to me that the ending is the primary attraction to this material by the Coens as it really speaks to their arthouse roots. The fact that they make what appears to be the main narrative so compelling is what I think throws people. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is one scary villain. Maybe the best villain since Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

 

Robert

[homer]

Agreed, Bardem should get a nod from Oscar.

[TerraceReserved]

Yep, Bardem was one scary, scary dude.

 

Spoiler Alert:

 

But on the ending. Did anyone feel satisfied with it? Here we watch this guy being chased the whole movie, then he dies abruptly with out us even seeing it. Then you think wily old cop Tommy Lee Jones is gonna kill the bad guy, but that doesn't happen either. And the last scene with Jones talking about a dream with his father, of whom wasn't mentioned the entire movie didn't work for me. It seemed like the producers were trying to hard to make the movie artsy and meaningful, and I'm sure some are interested in that, it's not for me and probably lots of others. The whole thing just frustrated me.

[pogokat]

it's a very literal translation of the book, so blame cormac mccarthy, not the coens...

 

i like the ending...i just thought it fit that you can't stop that kind of evil...

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Yeah... it's not a happy ending... it's not supposed to be.

 

And McCarthy shouldn't be "blamed" - he should be championed. Arguably the greatest living writer in America today. (Read The Road, if you haven't)... His works are very distinct and translate well to film. All The Pretty Horses is one of the better movies that most people haven't seen.

 

SPOILER ALERT:

 

My take on the ending is this: TLJ mentions earlier that he hasn't, in all his years, found god - or god hasn't shown himself to him, etc. The dream of the father is God showing himself to TLJ - or his father appearing to lead himself to God. Here is this rugged, world-worn sheriff and he is rendered useless by this force in front of him. God appears to him as a way of comforting him as he rides off into the sunset...

 

 

I am usually in full agreement with people when they say: I just want to go to a movie for the instant gratification I get from it and don't want to have to think about it. This is one of those films, however, that needed to be made exactly how it was. It's brilliantly nuanced, the characters are so well drawn, and the story is unique and interesting because it is structured like the book and not watered down or changed to cater to movie audiences. Much respect to the Coens for doing that...

 

Best movie I've seen this year, easily...

 

Well, until There Will be Blood is released.

[homer]

SPOLIER ALERT:

 

 

I wish I could comment on the ending but I was so engrossed in the 'chase' that I zoned out when Jones was giving his little soliloquy at the end. I suppose subconsciously I was 'resting' my mind for what I thought was the ending to come. And then the ending came.....very abruptly. I'll wait for the DVD to see it again.

 

I love the Coen's attention to detail and the patience they have in creating a film. I also love how they can share an event of significance without having to show everything - i.e. when Bardem leaves the Llelewyn's wife's house and checks his shoes.

 

 

As an aside, there was a tv movie of the same name in 1981 abotu Jonathan Swift's time in Dublin.

[RobertR]

SPOILERS

A recurring motif in the movie is that you can follow someone's trail, via blood, tiretracks, and a transponder, but you can't necessarily see where they're going. Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff spends the whole movie tracking down Moss and Chigurh and just misses them both. Fate itself is random and capricious and noone is immune to it. We and Llelewyn Moss are well set up for a final showdown with Chigurh when the Mexicans come out of leftfield. Chigurh thinks he's done when a car comes out of nowhere and blindsides him. (I note that the Coens had the car come from the invisible camera side so that the audience doesn't even see it coming.) Things don't end according to plan (that's vanity talking) or according to justice. Lives hang on the outcome of a random coin flip. None of the bystanders that Chigurth comes across deserve their fate.

Tommy Lee Jones sees all that capriciousness and amorality around him and has to figure out how to deal with it. There's comfort in his dreams, perhaps God has finally found him there. Is there comfort in his waking life yet?

Brolin, Bardem, and Jones all turn in really strong performances. Jones is the only one that seems really changed by what he sees. Brolin may be the protagonist in the active sense of the word, but Jones is arguably the main character and the constant throughout the film. He opens and closes the film for a reason.

Probably worth mentioning that Roger Deakins does an outstanding job with cinematography as he usually does with the Coens. Even a candy wrapper unkrinkling becomes a fascinating object.

Robert

[lukevan]

Absolutely fantastic movie. My favorite part was when the movie ended and someone in the audience said "What the hell?"

 

SPOILER:

 

I loved the ending. It shows that the good guys don't always catch the bad guys, that a determined (and depraved) individual can operate almost entirely outside human forces (law enforcement); in fact Bardem receives help/cooperation on several occasions from onlookers/standers-by. Geography of course has a lot to do with his elusiveness as well; most of the scenes occur in desolate terrain or empty city streets.

 

If you take Bardem as a "devil" character, RKFG's analysis of TLJ's dream makes a lot of sense.

 

And if you consider the title, you get other-wordly forces battling amongst a world that's not ready for such evil; those that encounter Bardem are mentally (spiritually) under-equipped ("You don't have to do this." "Everyone always says that." + Woody's character's last few moments) when faced with said evil and those who hear the story are unable to explain/understand this evil. Most importantly, no one is able to stop it, much like the reckoning/apolocalypse would be unstoppable.

[Katuluu]

Deakins really does a fantastic job in the movie. That early chase scene as Llewelyn is running into a thunderstorm is probably the shot of the year, as well as outstanding foreshadowing. I don't know if it was digital, planned, or sheer dumb luck, but that's why he will probably win best Cinematography. Also, check out his work in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, better camera work in that film, but so under seen it will be surprising if it gets any recognition.

 

I think it is also telling that the only two that survive are the two polar opposites in terms of being affected by the events. While Chigurh is able to rather coolly and callously move through everything, Jones is clearly affected and not for the better. It's as if the underlying theme is that if you want to get through this life, you'll have to do or see some awful things just to survive. And maybe surviving isn't a good thing.

[homer]

"That early chase seen as Llewelyn is running into a thunderstorm is probably the shot of the year, as well as outstanding foreshadowing. "

 

I completely agree. I was thinking the same things that you did- "Did they keep shooting that scene until they got the lightning? Was it CGI?".

[Roscoe Chill]

What homer said.

 

I really didn't catch what Jones' character was saying the last scene because of the lady snoring behind me, and as homer put it, kind of zoning out, not expecting the end was nigh. So, I don't necessarily hate the ending, I just wish I knew that WAS the ending so I would have tried to pay better attention. The snoring lady also didn't allow me to catch any significance or reason for the dude from Northern Exposure and his speech near the end of the film.

 

I definitely liked it, just thought I would like it a lot more. That said, I definitely need to see it again for reasons above.

 

I will say that the acting and cinematography were both excellent.