by RSJ
Stars:
Josh Brolin
Tommy Lee Jones
Javier Bardem
I believe that no film can be executed with absolute perfection nor should any director attempt to even try to achieve this. Some do, but more often than not, lose sight of the larger picture. But if there ever was a recent example of any film that comes close enough, then the Coen Brothers ‘No Country for Old Man’ would be it.
A down on his luck Vietnam veteran, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a cross border drug deal gone bad. With members of both parties strewn with bullets, only a lone survivor remains. He leaves the dying Mexican and discovers nearby a 2 million dollar cache of money. He does what any ‘down on his luck Vietnam veteran’ would do; he takes the drug money and runs.
But the real owners of the cash are obviously not happy, and engage the services of a cold and calculated psychotic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who just happens to be lurking around killing innocent people. The killer’s strange tool of choice is a gas tank that shoots and sucks back in a projectile which leaves his victims with a fatal but mysterious blow.
Finally, enter Tommy Lee Jones, who portrays the stone-faced small town sheriff, Ed Bell who believes he has seen it all but as the violence begins to slowly explode around him, he is often left baffled merely able to only pick up the leftover pieces.
The storyline of ‘No Country for Old Men’ seems almost too simple and straight forward. You get nothing explaining any past events only a generous chunk of the present where everything takes place.
What it does provide though is ample room to amplify the interaction between the distinct main characters all of whom are equally showcased on screen. It is three detail stories slowly being pulled fatefully together.
The dialogue that results is rich although there is actually very little exchange between the main characters. In fact, the philosophical Sheriff Bell is very much a third-person never actually meeting Moss or the killer in the face.
Brolin, Jones and Bardem all give impeccable performances. But it is Bardem’s merciless and twisted killer, although not quite as complicated as Mr. Hannibal Lector, but eerily cold, which gets top marks.
All of this is then set in a visual feast of perfectly articulated shots, often slowing down to almost a standstill before breaking loose into full-blown violence and destruction. Somehow, the Coen brothers leave nothing to chance nurturing each scene like an individual masterpiece. They do this so well that you may fail to realise that the whole movie actually lacks a music soundtrack. The silence must be deafening!
What results is a tightly knit, thoroughly entertaining fare, excelling in every aspect. Deliciously good!
A down on his luck Vietnam veteran, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a cross border drug deal gone bad. With members of both parties strewn with bullets, only a lone survivor remains. He leaves the dying Mexican and discovers nearby a 2 million dollar cache of money. He does what any ‘down on his luck Vietnam veteran’ would do; he takes the drug money and runs.
But the real owners of the cash are obviously not happy, and engage the services of a cold and calculated psychotic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who just happens to be lurking around killing innocent people. The killer’s strange tool of choice is a gas tank that shoots and sucks back in a projectile which leaves his victims with a fatal but mysterious blow.
Finally, enter Tommy Lee Jones, who portrays the stone-faced small town sheriff, Ed Bell who believes he has seen it all but as the violence begins to slowly explode around him, he is often left baffled merely able to only pick up the leftover pieces.
The storyline of ‘No Country for Old Men’ seems almost too simple and straight forward. You get nothing explaining any past events only a generous chunk of the present where everything takes place.
What it does provide though is ample room to amplify the interaction between the distinct main characters all of whom are equally showcased on screen. It is three detail stories slowly being pulled fatefully together.
The dialogue that results is rich although there is actually very little exchange between the main characters. In fact, the philosophical Sheriff Bell is very much a third-person never actually meeting Moss or the killer in the face.
Brolin, Jones and Bardem all give impeccable performances. But it is Bardem’s merciless and twisted killer, although not quite as complicated as Mr. Hannibal Lector, but eerily cold, which gets top marks.
All of this is then set in a visual feast of perfectly articulated shots, often slowing down to almost a standstill before breaking loose into full-blown violence and destruction. Somehow, the Coen brothers leave nothing to chance nurturing each scene like an individual masterpiece. They do this so well that you may fail to realise that the whole movie actually lacks a music soundtrack. The silence must be deafening!
What results is a tightly knit, thoroughly entertaining fare, excelling in every aspect. Deliciously good!
