Member review

The backdrop of the Coen brothers biggest achievement to date is the brutal,cruel borderlands of texas. The film on the surface level seems to be another western but as you watch on you realise this film is like no other in the sense of its individuality.

To best describe no country for old men would be to call it a boiling point of different genres; it pinches aspects of many different genres to create this perfect concoction of tension, grittiness and a disturbingly realistic feel. Boasted by three superb leading performances from josh brolin,Tommy lee Jones and Javier Bardem No country for Old Men does a superb job at really hooking you in (hook line and sink for that matter ) as whilst you are watching it there isn't many moments where you aren't constantly on the edge of your seat.

What makes' No Country for Old Men' such an interesting film isn't just the great plot, the cinematography of the stellar performances even, it's the ideological messages that the Coen brothers are conveying. These messages are a big reason as to how the film distances itself away from being a pure western as stereotypically westerns are the ultimate almost representative of what it means to be american, going as far back as films starring John Wayne or Clint Eastwood the ultimate message that was conveyed through these protagonists was what the ideal american was supposed to be ; strong, rugged, masculine , heroic. These films to the Americans were what odysseys were to the Greeks; they were the ultimate stories to look up to and to model yourself on.

No country for old men does away at this and ruthlessly strips back the allure of America to expose the true brutality and dog eat dog nature of America.

Set in the sparse empty 1980s texas we are introduced to Llewelyn Moss who while out hunting comes across what is a drug deal gone wrong. What he finds are all the players left at the scene dead or near death and a satchel filled with $2 million which he takes. True to a typical western hero He not only tries to protect himself in the process of trying to find out who will be after the money, but also attempts to protect his wife Carla Jean (played by kelly Macdonald) by sending her away to her mother. A person hired to retrieve the money is Anton Chigurh, who will kill anyone necessary to get to his end goal. Chigurh, in deciding who should live or die in his day to day life, also uses his own psychopathic set of principles. Chirgurh quickly learns that Moss has the money and is on the run. Also on both their trails is Terrell County Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and his deputy Wendell. Bell, a third generation sheriff, has of late become disenchanted with his future as a sheriff solely because of the notion that he and his like have not been able to do anything to control the increasing violence of the region. Bell finds evidence that Moss has the money and that someone, who has left a trail of carnage behind him, is after Moss and the money. As such, Bell tries to find Moss solely to protect him from whoever is after him. One other person added to the mix is Carson Wells (played by Woody Harrelson) hired by the same person that hired Chigurh also to retrieve the money, as their employer feels that Chigurh has gotten out of control. Wells knows Chigurh well and knows that he will not take too kindly to anyone else brought in on his job.

In terms of film form I think the element that really stands out whilst watching the film is the cinematography, the way the film is shot is fantastic, the variety of shots are used so well in the film to connote certain emotions the most notable being how cinematography was used to create an almost nauseating amount of tension.

The use of Mise en scene is the biggest reason in the film feeling like it takes inspiration from western films- the desert landscape and the appearances of moss and bell especially really make it like it has major aspects of the western genre.

The contrast however in chigurh’s appearance both outfit wise and appearance wise really makes him an outsider to this old america feel that the texas landscape has, you get this sense that chigurh almost represents the new developing America and Moss and Bell represent the south who are clinging on to the old ideals and I think the difference in outfits with the characters is a major reason for creating this feeling.

The lack of sound in the film was a masterstroke by the Coen brothers, this tense atmosphere that is so prevalent throughout the whole movie is created in large part due to the lack of sound, the only sound we hear in the film is mostly diegetic with music even being very rare in the film. Sometimes less is better and in terms of the lack of sound in no country for old men that is definitely the case.

The subtle use of editing is key in really giving the film its realistic feel, whilst watching you are so involved in the story that you barely realise you are actually watching a film and the editing is a major reason for this.

The one criticism I have of the editing is that the slow pace for me at points became almost ineffective and almost for me stretched out for too long to the points where certain moments lose that “everything in the balance” feel.

For me personally this film is as close to perfection as it gets, after watching it for a second time i've really gained an extra appreciation for the film; Javier Bardem in particular really put in a superb performance, the aura that he was able to create around Chigurh was fantastic- he created this spine-chilling almost Michael Myers esque feel around the character where anything you do to him is hopeless.

Bardem does a great job at really creating this towering feel over the movie, whilst watching you feel he could spring out of the shadows, it truly was an amazing performance and a true example in how to create a terrifying aura around a character without going over the top with it.

Tommy lee Jones does a great job at really catching the feeling that the Coen brothers wanted to convey through sheriff Ed Tom, his disenchantment from being a sheriff and his overall feeling of being lost is acted perfectly by Jones who really gives this feeling that sheriff tom is almost being swallowed up in a hurricane helpless and this sense of helplessness is killing him.

Coen brothers use sheriff Ed Tom as a device to show the death of the old west and to strip back the glamorized feel about America- Ed tom's disenchantment from his job is much bigger than just him on a personal level he is the symbol of the old west and through his disenchantment from his job shows the death of the old west and the death of this glamorized idea of what an american man should be, time has moved on.

And Josh Brolin as llewellyn moss successfully creates this character that it's almost impossible to not root for, a true good hearted character who through Brolin's expertise isn't just another nauseating, unrelatable protagonist that you so often see in movies.

What is most impressive about this film for me was the execution of the message that the coen brothers were trying to send, this movie grinds out the glamorised america that we are so used to seeing in films associated with the western genre with no country for old men going against the grain by presenting this ruthless, sad but ultimately more realistic depiction of america and american society as a whole.

The clever use of the three leading characters is really impressive for me as i think they are all analogies for american society and the dangers of american society; Moss is used to show the consequences of greed ; Bell is used to show the death of the old america and Chigurh is used to show the utter ruthlessness of this developing america he is the epitome of this ruthless new america.

If I was to nitpick, the pacing of the film was at points a bit slow for me, I understand the slow pacing of the film was a crucial component to the film keeping the tense feel, but for me at points it was almost to slow and instead of keeping the tension it became ineffective and felt more like a hurdle in the way of the film kicking on.

But overall this movie was brilliant and if you can you should definitely watch it a couple of times to really appreciate the film as a whole as it truly is superb and I think movies like this that do convey different meanings to the social norm are what cinema is all about so yes I wholeheartedly recommend you watch this film.