No Country for Old Men (DVD, 2008)

No Country for Old Men is as exceptional a mix of two creative talents- the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, and author Cormac McCarthy (recent winner of the Pulitzer for The Road, his own masterpiece) as one could imagine, as they converge on a story that in lessor hands would be just a B movie. The story concerns an average Joe out hunting one day in Texas who comes across a bunch of dead bodies, heroin, and a satchel with 2 million in cash. He takes it, but without knowing that a true embodiment of a psychopath (Javier Bardem) is on his trail, and as he evades him it becomes more and more clear the fatalism that lies in store, as a weathered sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) is also on the trail with perpetulally sad eyes looking on from his stolid demeanor.

More than this, it's also about as good a morality play as one could ask for, because it plays and tools and makes very serious questions about what is moral, or what isn't, or what is so ambiguous that it's all up to the toss of a coin or a chance ride out of town. There are a few interpretations to Bardem's character Anton that could be taken, but one thing is certain- he's less a symbol than a real presence, a "ghost" as Jones's sheriff calls him that can come around at the drop of a pin, usually in the dark, and strike the utmost fear (or confusion if you're a clerk) in the hearts of men and women. You'll never look at a coin toss the same way again. Or an air-gun. Or fixing a bullet wound in a leg. Or a hunt at a motel. Or even the aftermath of a car crash.

But at the same time it's the purest time of cinema, recalling Hitchcock and Leone and Welles's Touch of Evil and the best of noir and westerns. There are so many exceptional shots and lighting, so much depth to the perception of the characters through the mis-en-scene, so much tension, that through this it's all up to the actors to make or break the near-perfection that is the McCarthy source. Bardem embodies Anton like no other could- you can't look at his eyes, often steel-cold and horrifically professional (to what professional who can say), which occasional tear- and it's obviously worthy of an Oscar. And Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones are also fantastic; we see Brolin often in the midst of an action scene, a moment of 'save-your-life' going on, and one can finally see an actor of his caliber completely breaking out in a role that doesn't require him to ever totally "emote". Jones, on the other hand, gives a compassionate turn in a film that's about the struggles of desperate men in a land without law and order. He's gone through so much that it comes out completely in his voice and eyes, sorrowful but holding back, and he reaches a level of connection with the character that makes the Fugitive look like simpleton TV. Kelly McDonald, who plays Lleland's wife, is also excellent when called upon, especially in a crucial scene later in the film.

It's gut-wrenching, bleak, violent, super-tense (I clenched many a knuckle during some scenes), surprisingly funny in a darkly comic manner not seen by the Coens in many years, and artistically fashioned to a beat that is meditative (watch the opening moments with Jones's voice-over), simple, and doomed. It's beautiful and terribly tragic, for McCarthy fans it finally strikes at what is truest to his material- even if you haven't read the book itself the Road will give an indication of the mood and atmosphere at hand- and at the moment I can't think of any other film that would b

I thought the movie "Fargo" would go down in cinematic history as the "best" film that the Coen Brothers ever did. I was wrong. Unless they can somehow top this one, this is it. Set in 1980 it's the story of a small town Texas Sheriff, played perfectly by Tommy Lee Jones, name of Ed Tom Bell, who finally comes across crimes that were "beyond measure". Time has past by the easy-going Sheriff when he encounters a crime started by a drug deal gone bad. A mysterious man called Anton Chigurh (best supporting actor Javier Bardem) was shown up wrecking havoc as he tries to recover $2 million in cash. A man by the name of Llewelyn Moss, played by the perfectly cast Josh Brolin, has stumbled onto the cash and is now on the lam with both Chigurh and Bell on his trail. A great supporting performance also comes from Kelli McDonald, whom you'd swear was a born and bred Texas girl, is actually from Glasgow, Scotland. A variety of supporting players round out the cast. Not a bad performance in the lot, the unspoken other lead is the setting itself. The Coens have outdone themselves with their attention to detail and storytelling, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. To tell you any more would spoil it, so buy your copy today, at eBay.
10/10

I've always been a fan of the Coen brothers, but that has nothing to do with how I feel about the movie. I will say that this is the best movie (next to Fargo) they've made. I wanted to see No Country For Old Men because, like you, I was wondering what the big deal was. I hate hype, and I'm not a fan of Westerns. First, let me say that the plot is excellent - near flawless. Quick summary: A man out hunting comes across the crime scene of a drug deal gone wrong, finds two million dollars, decides to keep it, and an unstoppable assassin is hired to track him down and get the money back. It's a bit more complex, but that's all I'll give away. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen the entire time I watched it. This film makes you nervous and anxious from beginning to end. To top it off, one of the scariest villains ever! I won't explain too much but I will say the 'bad guy' is overly intriguing. Every time he was in a scene I was biting my nails! Tommy Lee Jones was perfect, along with the rest of the cast. Wonderful cinematography!!! The entire movie is a thrilling cat and mouse chase, a story of coincidence and chance, and a portrayal of the good, the bad, and the in between. It's a great DVD to own because you'll want to watch it over and over again (like I did)! It's about as good as movies get.

This is a typical Coen Brothers movie with quirky, dark humor, odd disjointed dialogue and seemingly unconnected scenes. The basic plot is straightforward. Good guy cowboy, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) comes upon a drug deal gone bad. All participants are dead so Moss helps himself to several million dollars in drug money. When he stupidly returns to the scene to give water to the only surviving drug dealer he is identified by the drug lords and targeted by their psychopathic hit man, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) runs a bit of a parallel course to Brolin, seeming to know all about the drug lords and Chigurh, but never quite catching up with Moss. The rest is a cat and mouse between Moss and Chigurh as Moss desperately tries to keep the money, returning to his wife, Carla Jean (Kelly MacDonald) and start a new life. Woody Harrelson plays a neat bit part as a hitman hunter. But it is ultimately Bardem who totally steals this one as the coin-flipping, monotone hitman with an odd code of honor. The problem with Coen brothers films is that they ask the viewer to be satisfied with an equally disjointed ending. Major characters and events are left unresolved or at least to the viewer's imagination. Without ruining the plot, what happens to Carla Jean? Does Bardem recover the money? Can you explain the scene in which Ed Tom seems about to encounter Chigurh?

If you haven't seen this Movie then you need to take twenty bucks out of your wallet and wipe your ass with it. You'll get a better value for your money and you will not have allowed those fat gastropods, the Coen brothers to have stolen two hours of your life to watch this abortion of a Film. I should have known better when it one those Oscars that it meant that this movie could not be ant worse if it came out of the Coen's fat asses. This is a must not see for you and anyone you can do a big favor by telling them they are better off getting gonorrhea than watching this pointless trash. I stand by the fact that getting an STD is not as bad as watching this movie. I think it likely that this movie gives your brain STD's that are far more harmful than a case of crabs could ever be. I mean by thr end I was gnashing my teeth, grinding my jaw, and rending my garments in an effort to keep from gouging my own eyes out of my head if thats what it would take to make it stop, just make it end so you can stop vomiting up your insides as your whole body rejects this experience. The medical fact that this movie has caused a 600% increase in spontaneous bowel movements in theaters across the country puzzle the experts. Doctors have never seen anything like this it known medical history, a movie could cause such explosive diarrhea the viewer ejected their Colons in a few extreme cases while some people actually had thier ass explode into pieces. I guess based on the current findings over 40% of the movies viewers suffered a major event involving feces escaping from every conceivable place they could. I was lucky that I got away from that movie with my sanity in tact and my butt not in twenty pieces. Bad stuff what took place all over the world. I can't imagine going through such an awful experience but the doctors all sat that the people who suffered from the oral diarrhea got of the easiest. Every day people somewhere see something at the theater that leaves a shitty taste in thier mouths so I can empathize with the people whose were hanging down by thier feet was awful as bad as having to watch the film again. I never want to think about such awful crap but to please for your own sake do not allow someone to trick you into going. those various reports of the NeoEuro-trash with one of those helmet hair styles that cover his ears like a big hair plate that wraps over the ears and bangs. This gives you the sloppy bowl cut got out of hand so fast that yhey took over your face to hide your ears at first until they actual grew over suddenly, the way the Goofy like were flopping around like a couple on one of those Disney caps. He must have pinned them down just so to keep up with the "penis head hair dews" helmet. She snickered at the image popping around the tops shoulders made him look back, when suddenly the guy stops dead in his tracks and turned out to be William Shattner, who wondered if maybe you might enjoy the movie more if you had named your own price?,suddenly you see Bob Barker of The Price is Right holding a bag filled with dog testicles, "have yout pet spade or neutered" Bob says popping a mouthful of dog nuts in and chewing. Chuck Norris walks over then and says "I told him not to help control the pet population but just to love me for the woman he married" the tears streaming down his face he says "He just used me for free mustache rides" THE END If the story is good to you, you'll love the Movie if not you'll hate it. FIN