No Country for Old Men
by James Roland
The latest offering from the brothers Coen is so consuming, so thought provoking, so whiz-bang exciting – that it might be best for them to quit while they’re ahead.
No Country for Old Men marks a major shift in the Coens’ filmography. From their debut in 1984 to O Brother, Where Art Thou? in 2000, all of their films were based on original ideas and — with the exception of Sam Raimi’s help on The Hudsucker Proxy — written solely by Joel and Ethan.
Then starting in 2003, the brothers paired with the acting power of George Clooney and Tom Hanks for the criminally unfunny Intolerable Cruelty (co-written by Matthew Stone and Robert Ramsey) and The Ladykillers (a remake of 1955’s The Ladykillers starring Alec Guinness).
No Country for Old Men, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy (a literary superstar for his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Road), marks the third such “collaboration,” but unlike the first two attempts, McCarthy’s novel seems to be a perfect fit with the brothers’ talent.
In this film, they have discarded many of their signatures — the snazzy camera work, the ethereal color schemes, and the dream-like musical sequences. Armed only with a simple soundtrack and gritty cinematography, the Coens have produced one of the best thrillers ever made.
Josh Brolin stars as Llewelyn Moss, a tough Vietnam veteran hunting his way through the Texas countryside. He stumbles upon a botched drug exchange and reveals his true mettle by giving water to a dying man. That act marks the only moment of kindness in a story rife with soulless brutality and inadvertently triggers a plot of murder, greed, and revenge.
Brolin has finally dropped his child actor status from The Goonies. This year he starred in Robert Rodriguez’s half of Grindhouse, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, and In the Valley of Elah by Oscar winner Paul Haggis. He brings a tough-guy quality to Llewelyn but avoids the trap of Southern cliché, including hints of a good heart beneath his leathery exterior.
Countering Llewelyn’s simple morality, Javier Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a sociopathic gun-for-hire who tracks Llewelyn across the country. Anton is ruthless and relentless. His only ethos is the cold brutality of Darwinism and, played with menacing joy by Bardem, he ranks among cinema’s greatest villains.
Anton personifies ethical decay – the central theme of No Country for Old Men. From the bookend narration of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones) to the formless and rule breaking third act, this film displays the decline of western morality.
Though set in the stereotypical backdrop of Texas conservatism, No Country for Old Men does not obey normal movie rules. While the acting, direction, and incredible script might place this film in the annals of film-nerd history, the heavy themes and non-traditional ending may alienate the popcorn-munchers and text-messagers of the movie-going world.
But if the debates that echoed down the theater corridors carry into future weeks, months, and years, No Country for Old Men is on its way to becoming a classic.
