Scan and Pan
Thursday, December 06, 2007
No Country for Old Men
Texas, 1980. Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is out hunting when he comes across the results of a drug deal gone bad--several dead men, a truck full of heroin, and $2 million in cash. He takes the cash, which immediately places him in the fatal path of hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who also wants the money. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) investigates the drug killings, coming to the realization that Moss took the money and his life is now in danger.
Screenwriters/directors (also editors and co-producers) Joel and Ethan Coen (Miller's Crossing, Fargo) generally remain faithful to Cormac McCarthy's novel while placing their own unique signature on the material. The dialog is sparse but revelatory. The story is bleak but a vein of sardonic humor lurks just below the surface. It's a dark thriller that owes a debt to the film noir and western genres, while it projects itself onto the cinema screen with an unwillingness to conform to a conventional narrative path.
The Coens suggest that exploring the forces of fate that draw the characters into the same orbit is more important than neatly tying things up at the end, and they're correct. Real life isn't as neat as a bow on a Christmas package. Real life is messy and usually leaves us with more questions than answers. So does No Country for Old Men, and therein lies its brilliance.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has collaborated with the Coens since 1991's Barton Fink, captures the nihilistic mood of the material with simple and realistic lighting, along with careful framing of each shot. Production designer Jess Gonchor (Capote, The Devil Wears Prada) and costume designer Mary Zophres (Fargo, Lions for Lambs) credibly evoke the place and time of Texas in 1980. The minimalist score by Carter Burwell (Fargo, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) perfectly suits the starkness of the story.
The cast is superb. Brolin is outstanding as Moss, revealing more about his character through body language than dialog. He remains a sympathetic lead throughout, adding impact to the story as the dark clouds of inevitability form above his head. Bardem is disturbing as the remorseless and seemingly unstoppable assassin tracking Moss. Some of his scenes will send shivers down your spine. Jones is pitch perfect as the aging lawman whose investigation triggers an existential crisis in his life. Also noteworthy for their performances are Woody Harrelson as a second hitman tracking Moss, Kelly Macdonald as Moss' wife, Garret Dillahunt as Sheriff Bell's eager deputy, Barry Corbin as Bell's uncle, and Rodger Boyce as the Sheriff of El Paso.
No Country for Old Men is easily one of the elite films of 2007. It also proves once again that the Coen Brothers are some of the most strikingly creative filmmakers of this era. It's difficult to single out one of their films as the best, but without a doubt this one is a highly qualified candidate.
[5 out of 5 stars]
The Coen Brothers' latest film can be summed up in one word: brilliant.
Texas, 1980. Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is out hunting when he comes across the results of a drug deal gone bad--several dead men, a truck full of heroin, and $2 million in cash. He takes the cash, which immediately places him in the fatal path of hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who also wants the money. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) investigates the drug killings, coming to the realization that Moss took the money and his life is now in danger.
Screenwriters/directors (also editors and co-producers) Joel and Ethan Coen (Miller's Crossing, Fargo) generally remain faithful to Cormac McCarthy's novel while placing their own unique signature on the material. The dialog is sparse but revelatory. The story is bleak but a vein of sardonic humor lurks just below the surface. It's a dark thriller that owes a debt to the film noir and western genres, while it projects itself onto the cinema screen with an unwillingness to conform to a conventional narrative path.
The Coens suggest that exploring the forces of fate that draw the characters into the same orbit is more important than neatly tying things up at the end, and they're correct. Real life isn't as neat as a bow on a Christmas package. Real life is messy and usually leaves us with more questions than answers. So does No Country for Old Men, and therein lies its brilliance.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has collaborated with the Coens since 1991's Barton Fink, captures the nihilistic mood of the material with simple and realistic lighting, along with careful framing of each shot. Production designer Jess Gonchor (Capote, The Devil Wears Prada) and costume designer Mary Zophres (Fargo, Lions for Lambs) credibly evoke the place and time of Texas in 1980. The minimalist score by Carter Burwell (Fargo, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) perfectly suits the starkness of the story.
The cast is superb. Brolin is outstanding as Moss, revealing more about his character through body language than dialog. He remains a sympathetic lead throughout, adding impact to the story as the dark clouds of inevitability form above his head. Bardem is disturbing as the remorseless and seemingly unstoppable assassin tracking Moss. Some of his scenes will send shivers down your spine. Jones is pitch perfect as the aging lawman whose investigation triggers an existential crisis in his life. Also noteworthy for their performances are Woody Harrelson as a second hitman tracking Moss, Kelly Macdonald as Moss' wife, Garret Dillahunt as Sheriff Bell's eager deputy, Barry Corbin as Bell's uncle, and Rodger Boyce as the Sheriff of El Paso.
No Country for Old Men is easily one of the elite films of 2007. It also proves once again that the Coen Brothers are some of the most strikingly creative filmmakers of this era. It's difficult to single out one of their films as the best, but without a doubt this one is a highly qualified candidate.
[5 out of 5 stars]
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