"No Country for Old Men" (2007) - Movie Review

When I watched Coen brothers’ “Miller’s Crossing” and the greatly acclaimed “Fargo”, both had the similar reaction in me. It did not bore me but it did not strike me either. The trend of their film making and its impact on me continues through “No Country for Old Men”, an adaptation of the novel of same name by Cormac McCarthy. This film actually has some better moments which I enjoyed more than the other two though. Still bland, just to be clear enough.

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is a terror. If he is on the screen, then it is the fear of his merciless execution. If he is not on the screen, then it is the fear of him coming and continues his blood spree. The Coen brothers use this fear to make us be in constant awareness and to be attentive. We do not want to see it, but yet you cannot help it. And Javier Bardem cannot be scarier and cold than this performance. I would very well classify the movie to be a horror, with psychopathic creature of strange principles. It is symbolic to represent him in black dress because that is the only mourning he does to the numerous killings. He is not a person who is after for money. Because one would wonder his spending choices will be, mainly there is no evidence of enjoying anything at all. Even the killings, being a psychopath, works hurrying but systematically, yet does not look like a passion. For some reason, he is after the money and I would guess his “principles”. Quite a follower.

Then comes the matched opposite to tackle him, or may be lucky too. That is Llewyn Moss (Josh Brolin) who on regular hunting day finds bodies, drugs and of course, a lot of money. He has a flexible conscience as any average human being tend to have. He goes back to the spot for offering a chance of life for a man he deserted during his first visit. Too late and too wrong to be in that place. He is a man perfectly acting and knowing his consequences. He knows wrong and does it. He is smart, calculative but just that the risk factors he calculated does not load his future in the correct direction. He runs and looks back. Chigurh is coming. That sets his life till the end.

The other interesting and often mysterious character even though he is the one who has good amount of dialogues is Sheriff Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). He is at the end of his career. He wants to help the local guy Moss and promises the safeguard to his wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald). He has had it with the violence and to be a witness to the conscienceless acts of very many in his daily life starting from the days of his war. He believes this is his last case to solve and rightly leave to call it even with his sins.

Now these three characters are much well supported by many good casts. Which technically makes every scene of some interest or other. Now the part I had no interest are the final takes along with Bell. The accent swallowed some meaning and the rest meant something, but the blunt end leaves you with a vagueness of incompletion. It is not customary for any film for a period end and I am the sort of person who enjoys those kinds of endings which leaves a sense of continuing imagination. The lurching end out here opened the gates of void.

There is a style for the Coen brothers’ films. The dryness is what I would call it. We have seen dry comedy but the drama of that flavour is special. Making it interesting enough with that property is even more challenging. Their films have a plot of total insignificance. Any other movie maker would have opted on concentrating the racy nature and may be even make it the summer blockbuster. These guys completely go into the opposite direction of taking the elemental characters and give them something which does not shine but mildly glows. So when there are collective efforts from every one, we get their film. Sadly, this category while entertains me does not strike me as a master piece.