| Product: |
No Country For Old Men (DVD) |
| Date: |
23/01/08 (112 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Compelling, intriguing and quality production
Disadvantages: The ending is bizarre
Whilst out hunting in the Texan desert, a man named Llewelyn Moss stumbles across a remarkable scene. A drug deal has gone wrong, leaving a collection of dead bodies, an enormous stash of drugs and a briefcase containing $2million. Opting for the cash, Moss leaves the scene and stashes the cash in his trailer park home. But a pang of conscience draws him to return to the scene of the crime - and catalyses a chain of events that finds two hit men, a gang of Mexicans and an aging police sheriff hot on his trail.
Never keen to relinquish creative responsibilities, the Coen Brothers return to the big screens as producers, directors and screenplay writers of Cormac McCarthy's acclaimed novel. No Country For Old Men is a curiously simple, yet intriguingly twisted tale of chance and survival that shows the desperate lengths to which men will go when driven by their most primal instincts.
The film is essentially a tale of cat and mouse, with various parties in pursuit of one another; some more wittingly than otherwise. At the centre of the story lies Anton Chigurh, a psychopathic killer whose weapon of choice is a captive bolt pistol (it leaves less trace) and who has no compulsion about using it on anyone who gets in his way. Javier Bardem's ice-cold portrayal is spot on, but as with most Coen brother products, there is always something faintly amusing about him. Is it the way he speaks, or perhaps the way he stalks the Texan landscape with gas canister in tow? Or is it more obviously his rather stupid haircut (inspired by real-life photographs of men visiting Mexican brothels)? In either case, he remains a striking figure and is perhaps the most literal translation of the Coen's interest in chance (he often asks his victims to toss a coin to decide their fate.)
Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a far more ordinary figure, whose flash of conscience is what triggers the film's main events. Moss is a curious character; he recognised both the dangers and the merits of holding two million dollars in stolen cash but he never really seems to have a clear plan of action. In the background lurks Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff; a shrewd, world-wise figure who keeps his less-informed deputy in check and recognises the gravity of the situation far more than anyone else. Brolin is good; Jones is excellent. No Country is one of his best performances to date with a role that somehow commands more attention than any other, despite seeing the least action.
No Country For Old Men is notable by absence. There is, for example, no real soundtrack, each scene played silently, accompanied only by the natural sounds of breathing, gunfire or the wind. More notably, there is an absence of interaction. The three lead characters never actually share the screen. (They come close but never quite do it). Incredibly, for a tale that portrays one man's pursuit, the drama is very individual, with each scene focused solely on one of the main characters. There's also an absence of time. Exactly when is this film set? How many days go by? When Llewelyn Moss uses his watch to gauge whether to make a move, we never see how long he waits. To the audience, time is a secret; an unnecessary detail that complicates the fact that you can't avoid what's coming.
No Country's significant running time (it's around two and a half hours) passes by quickly, largely because the action dictates it. It's a constant struggle for Moss to keep one step ahead of both Chigurh and the Mexicans, and when a second hit man enters the proceedings part way through (Woody Harrelson on top form) things become even trickier. The tone, nonetheless, is very "matter of fact", with none of the high-octane action normally associated with this kind of story. That's not to say that it's dull, of course. The Coens are masters of suspense and gradually crank up the tension through simple, stylish story telling. No Country shares themes with several of the directors' previous productions but seems most reminiscent of Fargo, another cold-blooded thriller with a lacing of dark humour. There is nothing contrived about this film; this is more a tale about what drives the central characters than what happens to them and as such, viewers expecting a spectacular, neat conclusion will almost certainly be disappointed.
Indeed, it is the film's conclusion that will almost certainly split opinion over this film. Whilst faithful to McCarthy's source material (as is the rest of the film) the conclusion is arguably not as effective on screen as it was in written form. No Country is quite a thoughtful film but in a screenplay that quite conventionally portrays good, evil, chance and purpose, it's hard to expect the audience to subsequently consider a deeper theme. It's something to be reflected on, as the initial reaction is likely to be either disbelief or disappointment.
Nonetheless, No Country is an accomplished film and another triumph for the Coen Brothers, reflected in the barrage of award nominations currently being made. Fans of their previous material will love No Country and for those new to the directing brothers, it is an excellent introduction.
No Country For Old Men was released in UK cinemas on January 18th 2007.
Summary: The Coen Brothers return with a fine production of a famous novel.
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