Saturday, March 8, 2008

Movie Review: No Country For Old Men (2007)

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Genre: Thriller
Rated: R

Winner of the Best Picture Oscar and winner of three other Oscars, including Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem). It is based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same title. The Coen brothers are at it again. They have created a movie that you have to inhale the entire 116 minutes before realizing what you have seen. It is unlike any movie you will ever sit down to watch.

Tommy Lee Jones plays the sheriff in a small town who has to deal with a rash of killings in his small town. Javier Bardem plays Chigurh the cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to get the drug money that he claims is his. Josh Brolin's character happens upon Chigurh's money and he wants it for himself. Chigurh is on his trail and the tension builds as we see the journey that he takes on his quest. Also, Woody Harrelson has a small funny role as a bounty hunter thrown into the mix.

I am a huge fan of Coen brother movies (Raising Arizona, Fargo and O, Brother Where Art Thou? among them). The Coen do an amazing job with pacing and timing throughout the movie. This is a movie that will be talked about and will have many interpretations. Go see for yourself why this movie is well deserved to be the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture.

"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"


Have you seen this movie? Go to DISCUSS MOVIE to enter the open discussion. You can include questions, comments or even your own review. CAUTION: May contain spoilers!

1 comment:

Clay Miller said...

I had to write on my take on No Country For Old Men. After watching the entire movie I think it could be seen as just the mind of Tommy Lee Jones' character, the sheriff. Meaning that Chigurh and Josh Brolin's character Llewelyn Moss may not have really existed. They are created by the sheriff as evil that he can't control.

You look into the fact that the movie starts with the sheriff talking about evil that he doesn't understand. Throughout the movie the sheriff never saw Chigurh or Moss in person. At the very end the sheriff is talking about his father and his death.

I also found it curious that the sheriff tells Mrs. Moss that the killer probably used the cow air gun, which is used in slaughterhouses. How did he know this and why didn't he tell anyone else, especially other police officers? To me another clue that the movie is all about him and his distraught mind.

What do you think?