NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Review
Watch your back because there’s a new evil, hardcore, mean-to-the-bone bad guy in town! As disturbing as this may sound, the one that holds this movie together are Javier’s chilling performance and the exceptionally brilliant script that… the Coen Brothers came up with. I’m an admirer of Coen Brothers’ work (Fargo, The Big Lebowsky) and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN just puts them even more as powerhouse writers in Hollywood, more established than any duo screenwriters like Wes & Owen, the Nolan brothers, or even Matt & Ben.
A hunter (Brolin) stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and briefcase full of $2 million in cash. What comes after is a nightmare in a form of a psychotic killer, the kind that no one should never have to deal with.
Javier Bardem in this movie walks like a ghost, strangely hypnotic, his pale face, his low tone creepy voice, he can show up anywhere at anytime, he’s practically death himself collecting bodies from one place to another. His character is the new member of my list of all time’s movies’ baddest bad guys. You fear him and yet somehow you can’t keep your eyes off of him.
Tommy Lee Jones still has that wit of his, giving us humorous punch lines and comments in the midst of trouble and uncertainty.
Finders keepers, eh?! That mentality can get you in some deep S#it!!
Like I said, the script plays a big role in making this movie riveting. It’s interesting to see how the Coen brothers take their time in showing us how clever the bad guy can be in fixing himself or finding whatever and whomever he’s hunting. Not only that, most of the time we get pampered with the care for details during silent moments, when dialogue is not included, as the characters do their thing, is where we could really see how dangerously serious the problem has gotten.
The only thing that disappoints me is that it has an unsatisfying ending. I think it could’ve been handled differently in a way that gives more closure and conclusion rather than leaving some holes for more unanswered questions.
I think NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a threat to other movies when it’s time for the Oscars next year.
* Place the cursor on the picture below to check my grade for this film
6 Comments so far
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Hey Rama,
We are planning to see this during our thanksgiving break, but you said that the ending sucked…care to elaborate…I can’t stand good movies with horrible endings….do you think it is worth watching or do you recommend anything else….Thanks man, and thanks for the AEA pics you sent.
Sam
I highly recommend it, Sam.
Mostly because it’s a film about character study.
It’s deeply studying the essence of evil.
To figure out evil in its purest form or at least as close as Coen brothers can present.
What it is that makes a man so greedy, heartless, and pure cold.
Each scene is built and edited in a way that makes you want to know what’s gonna happen next.
it’s a brilliant movie overall.
Now why I said that the ending is unsatisfying,
that’s mostly because I was expecting something that would bring judgment to that who deserve it.
That’s one thing I like about the movie ‘The Departed’, Martin Scorsese decides to use Mark Wahlberg as some sort of angel of death who finally kills Matt Damon’s, as opposed to how the original movie ‘The infernal affairs intended it.
One more thing, and I won’t spoil too much, so you can see it for yourself… NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN also deals with Tommy Lee Jones rambling about something about how times have changed.
But then again, keep in mind, it is based on a novel of the same title which I have yet to read.
Hey Rama,
Sorry for the delay on this post but I just got to see it this weekend. Let me be honest, my friends and I where thrilled throughout the movie…which by the way is truly intense. The lack of music score just added to the tension, which I truly enjoyed….HOWEVER, I could not believe how horrible the ending was. After picking up my jaw from the floor, my friends and I where speechless trying to figure out if the director had forgotten and end reel, but unfortunately the credits kept rolling…Personally it had huge, HUGE potential but a letdown in the end for Me.
Exactly my point, Sam.
Like I’ve mentioned… to me as well, the ending was unsatisfactory.
I think it could’ve been handled differently… in a way that would resolve everything instead of finishing it at Tommy Lee Jones’s monologue.
Some folks said that there’s nothing left to resolve, it ended the way it should and any addition to it might turn it into an action movie which was not the intention of Coen brothers at all.
Do you agree?
First off, this was the best movie I’ve seen in years. I would put it in my top 5 all time. The screenplay adaptation of the novel is on par with The Godfather, and Puzzo himself helped with the screenplay for that. Every word of dialogue seemed to play directly into the plot progression. And of course the superb acting brought the whole bit up a notch. And I loved the soundtrack
In regards to the ending, I completely disagree with the notion that it was unsatisfying. I think what happened here, is that you were expecting an ending, rather than watching it take place before you. The ‘ending’ was about a 15-20 minute process by my count. By my estimation there was just the right amount of closure coupled with room for interpretation. The final epilogue by Tommy Lee Jones served as the closing commentary for his correlating prologue in the beginning, and as a viewer, having that prologue in your mind throughout the movie will make for the most satisfying experience with the ending.
Hold on there a minute,
Godfather is still, in my opinion, the best movie of all time, I hardly think No country for Old men is on the same level.
Though it is a brilliant movie, I don’t think it’s Godfather brilliant.
But you’ve made a Good point. I kinda understand it a little bit better now… as far as the ending is concerned.
So you’re saying, Brian, that it was set in closing of what he said at the beginning of the movie.
In a way it makes sense to have the movie end in such a way, it’s unconventional though but I suppose it’s necessary.
And yes, I did have an expectation about what the ending might turn out, so that alone gave me a dose of disappointment instead.