Finally, the season for high-quality films has begun. That cold, crisp autumn air compels moviegoers to the theaters for films that stand out amongst the traditional fare. Granted, this summer had some high marks, but ultimately, nothing truly stood out amongst the herd. “Michael Clayton,” “Gone, Baby, Gone” and “American Gangster” have helped to save this year from mediocrity. It is this season when the skills of the actors, directors and writers of Hollywood truly shine.Enter “No Country for Old Men,” the newest film brought to us by the Coen brothers. Based on the 2005 book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, the film is a masterpiece, plain and simple, and is arguably the best film of the year.
While there has been some competition for that title, primarily in the form of the aforementioned films, it is “No Country for Old Men” that works the best. From the opening frame to the closing minutes, the film presents the audience with a philosophical journey that begs the question “what compels people to take the actions that they choose?” Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Woody Harrelson, this film combines deep characters with sharp dialogue and brilliant direction. Already acclaimed filmmakers, the Coen brothers top anything they have done in the past with this truly remarkable film that is sure to garner serious attention come awards time.
“No Country for Old Men” opens with a beautiful shot of a desolate, wide-open area in West Texas. It is presented like a portrait on a canvas. The local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Jones), tells a story of the changing times, how in the past, local law enforcement officials never wore guns; now, today, violence is rampant, requiring the use of such weapons.
Enter Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), a local man out hunting antelope, who stumbles on a drug deal gone wrong. He finds a cache of heroin, several corpses and two million dollars. Moss leaves with the satchel of money in hand, but returns later, only to be ambushed by the people who are after the money. The drug dealers hire Anton Chigurh (Bardem), a stone-faced killer who quickly executes the men who hire him and begins his own search for the satchel of cash. Using a tracking device hidden in the money, Chigurh follows Moss from town to town and hotel to hotel, where only one will come out alive.
Joel and Ethan Coen have become masters of questioning human nature and showcasing the bleakness of life, the central theme of many of their films being what causes people to act the way they do.
This film is no different. It presents a haunting picture of human nature where the directors seem less interested in who achieves the goal of getting away with the money than with what propels each character forward. What made Moss return to the site where the drug deal had occurred, when he already had the money? Why did Moss take the money, most likely knowing that someone would be looking for it?
The central character questioned is Chigurh, who, with his limited back story, is as much of an enigma as any character portrayed in film. His ruthless killings, carried out with such weapons as a cattle gun, silenced shotgun, and handcuffs, offer insight into his demented mind, but the audience never gets the full story. But perhaps the Coen brothers are less interested in why Chigurh kills than how he kills.
Delving deeper into Chigurh, one must offer praise to Bardem, for he pulls off this role perfectly. He sinks into the role and makes the audience believe that he is a psychopath. Bardem creates this emotionless character whose facial expressions never change. The stone-cold disposition that Chigurh displays throughout the film allows his character to be surrounded by an unapproachable aura. It is with this disposition that Chigurh becomes one of the most terrifying characters in recent film history.
Jones, Brolin and, to a lesser extent Harrelson, also offer riveting performances. Already viewed as a Best Supporting Actor contender for “American Gangster,” Brolin turns in a better performance as a lead. His character questions his morality and his reasoning, but puts everyone he crosses at risk. Brolin offers a performance that is very subdued, but at the same time powerful.
Jones works well as the moral core of the main characters. As the town sheriff, Jones works, seeming to be the only character with any sense of morality throughout the majority of the film.
Harrelson is an important secondary character, but in the end, was marred by a lack of screen time.
The Coen brothers must be praised for the depth of which they went to portray suspense, creating a tense world shrouded in shadows and bland colors. During the film, there are various shootouts between Moss and Chigurh, all without any background music. What the Coens do so brilliantly is use the environment to create suspense in these scenes. Many films today rely too much on music to create suspense, but the Coen brothers realize that the setting is suspenseful enough.
Each moment of this film is more brilliant than the one that preceded it. For a pair of directors that have already made several noteworthy brilliant films, to achieve yet another is simply astonishing.
Chris Bashore is a fourth-year student majoring in political science. He can be reached at CB588901@wcupa.edu.