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Movie Review - No Country for Old Men (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Ethan and Joel Coen |
| Starring: |
Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly Macdonald |
| Rated: |
R (for strong graphic violence and some language) |
| Length: |
122 minutes |
| Genre: |
Crime/Drama/Thriller |
| Tagline: |
There Are No Clean Getaways |
| Studio: |
Paramount Vantage/Miramax |
| Website: |
No Country for Old Men |
| Release: |
Bro'vember 21, 2007 |
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PLOT
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Llewelyn Moss (the inimitable Josh Brolin) and his fear-inducing mustache are out hunting one day when he happens upon a pickup, some Mexican brown dope, and a gaggle of dead guys.
After surveying the area and assessing the situation, Moss follows a blood trail in pursuit of el ultimo hombre - the last man standing. What he finds is that el ultimo hombre ain't
no longer standing. He's now el muerto hombre. But death isn't all that Moss finds - a briefcase full of $2 million is left for the taking. Moss knows somebody will likely come
looking for the cash, but he also realizes this is an opportunity to give his wife Carla Jean (McDonald) the life he feels she deserves.
Moss takes the money, and as a result he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even Tommy Lee Jones can contain. Turning into a country boy version of
MacGyver, Moss must evade a plethora of pursuers, none more threatening and frightening than the freak-haired Chigurh (Bardem). Chigurh - the coin-flippin', air gun-usin',
non-sense-of-humor-possessin' personification of cold evil - has one mission: get the money back no matter who he has to kill in the process. Yet another Josh Brolin kick to
the groin of Hollywood ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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As sparse as my current dating life, as lean as my abs, and as contextually excessive as it needs to be, No Country for Old Men offers a very unique cinematic experience. At
its heart it is a truly amazing thriller with more intense chills and creepy tension than a modern horror film. But at the core of its soul lies an exploration of the ways of man and
the gradual destruction of a way of life.
Wasting neither a moment nor a role, No Country takes viewers on a cat-and-mouse thrill ride for the bulk of its runtime, but moviegoers familiar with the book know this will not
sustain. If you demand convention then prepare for a shock to the system. Love it or hate it, the Coens refuse to buckle to genre rules and have remained completely
faithful to the book. That's all I'll say about that.
Like any good recipe, minor ingredients are essential to the overall quality, and it's the film's constant influx of background characters that serves to give it just a little more
flavor. Whether it's the poor gas station attendant who has no idea his life hinges on the flip of a coin, or the trailer park manager who couldn't care less that she's giving
lip to a cold-blooded killer, each leaves a memorable impression and a small addition to the enjoyment.
But just like grandma's favorite recipe, the major ingredients are what truly set this dish apart. Kelly McDonald is remarkably innocent and helpless as Moss' wife, Tommy Lee Jones
is pitch-perfect as the sheriff, Bardem is disturbingly convincing as the cold, calculated, "principled" Chigurh - one of the best movie villains cinema has seen in a long time, but
it is Josh Brolin who really steals the show. As bad and as ruthless as Chigurh is, Brolin portrays Moss in such a way that you never doubt his ability to square off with the guy
and come out the victor. He's seen the terror that Chigurh has left in his wake, yet he never gives an inch nor shows an ounce of fear. It has certainly made an impression on Sheriff
Bell, but Moss refuses to bat an eye.
The quiet, eerie desert landscape is also an essential character. With no music upon which to crutch, the crunching of boots and the whistling of the desert wind serve as the film's only
soundtrack; the silence forcing Brolin to carry portions of the film on his swaggering body language and steely-eyed glare, something he accomplishes with natural ease.
Audiences who can handle the film's brutality and tension will absolutely love the first 3/4ths of the film. As for the ending? That will depend strictly on personal taste.
Some will love it, calling it brilliantly clever, insightful, and realistic. Others will leave unsatisfied. But it's crafted to elicit both responses. Mission accomplished.
I have my own thoughts on the conclusion, so feel free to email me and we will discuss. But don't let your fear of uncertainty of
how you'll view the ending be the decider on whether to see this or not. I'd place it right below 3:10 to Yuma on my "Best of 2007" list
and am looking forward to multiple viewings. There's a reason this is no longer country for old men. Did you really expect it to be a pretty one?
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name.
- The title No Country for Old Men is taken from W.B. Yeats' poem, Sailing to Byzantium.
- The Coens first became aware of McCarthy's novel through producer Scott Rudin. "He brought it to us thinking we might have an affinity for it," remembers Ethan, "and we did like
the book. We also thought we could do something with it."
- "It's as close as we'll ever come to doing an action movie," adds Joel.
- "It's certainly very dark - and that was our defining characteristic. The book is also quite violent, quite bloody. So the movie is probably the most violent we've ever made.
In that respect it reflects the novel, I hope, fairly accurately," says Joel.
- Josh Brolin is a big McCarthy fan who read the novel long before the screenplay. "This book is one of the most amazing, violent and perfectly vernaculared stories that I've read in
a long time," Brolin says. "Even though it's a linear story, just the structure of it was incredible. I just love the trio of Moss, Chigurh and Bell, and how it seemed like it was one
person split three ways."
- As for the screenplay, Brolin says: "It's an emotional, primal ride that is also about human principles of right and wrong, temptation and honor."
- Brolin's third of the trio is Llewelyn Moss, the army vet who quickly gets himself in a jam when he decides to take a potentially life-changing stash of drug money, but more for
love than greed, according to Brolin. "I think from Moss' point of view," he explains, "the whole thing stems from his relationship with his wife, Carla Jean. He has such an
incredible love for her. He wants to be able to create a better life for them and to make her happy - that's his driving goal."
- Tommy Lee Jones was so impressed with Brolin's acting in the movie that he left him a lengthy voicemail critique. Brolin recalls, "He just said, 'Nice job, young man,' and 'extended
moments of originality'. Stuff like that in his very west Texas laconic fashion."
- According to USA Today, when Brolin learned of the role he stated, "I did an audition tape on the set of Grindhouse. I went to Robert Rodriguez
and said, 'Hey, man, the Coen brothers are doing this film. I've got two scenes, and would you videotape me during lunch?' He said, 'What the (expletive)? Let's use our camera.' Quentin
Tarantino directed me. Robert shot it on a $950,000 Genesis camera."
The Coens' reaction? According to Brolin, "They asked, 'Who lit it?' They said it was the best-looking audition tape in the history of audition tapes. But their response to me was, 'Not
what we are looking for.'"
But, as the Boston Herald reports, Brolin's agent persisted. "They said, 'Have him come down if he wants to come down,'" Brolin said, grinning. "That was 9 o'clock at night. I got the
scenes at 10, studied until 1 a.m., got up at 6 a.m., was at the audition at 8 and had the part by noon."
- The Coens found casting the Llewelyn Moss character somewhat more challenging than casting Sheriff Bell. Moss, a Vietnam veteran, is a decent-hearted Texas good ol' boy who would
likely never have crossed the law - until he comes across a great deal of drug money that appears to belong to a group of dead men.
"Moss is sort of a regular person who's caught up in extraordinary circumstances and has one unreflective moment where he decides to appropriate a bunch of money that isn't his,"
explains Ethan Coen. "He then spends the rest of the movie trying to avoid the consequences. So he's very much the action center of the movie."
Adds Joel, "In this story, you have a good guy and a bad guy, and Moss is the in-between guy."
But that in-between quality proved harder to nail than anyone expected. "We thought it'd be really easy to find Moss," laughs Ethan, "because, in our minds, we thought, well, we
just need a good clean kid. And it turns out it's not easy to embody that without either being dull, or being, again, not of the region."
At last, the Coens found an actor who was able to bring a dynamic presence, rife with a distinctly Western touch, to the role: Josh Brolin, who has emerged as a breakthrough
screen actor.
"Josh grew up on a ranch so he had a feeling for where Moss comes from," explains Ethan. "He was just a natural in the role."
Brolin, who was raised in rural Central California, felt an immediate affinity with the character. He says: "Moss is really a compilation of a lot of guys that I grew up with.
These are guys who have principles, yet I think they would probably do the same thing as Moss under the circumstances."
- According to Tommy Lee Jones, the Coen Brothers wanted to film entirely in New Mexico for the film tax credit but he convinced them to film in Texas.
- The Coens used an 1890s era photo of a brothel patron as a model for Anton Chigurh's hair style.
- Tommy Lee Jones was in In the Valley of Elah with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Profanity isn't extreme. There are a couple of "f" bombs, and three or four G-d**ns. However, the violence and blood is off the charts. It's not violence for just the sake of being gory;
it's much more realistic than that. But that certainly doesn't mean your kids need to see it.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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If you watched the trailer and thought, "Man, that looks intense, and Josh Brolin looks AWESOME!" then you are quite the discerning person.
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THE GIST
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No Country for Old Men is an excellent cat-and-mouse thriller with standout performances. If you can handle the violence and prepare yourself to make a
judgment call on the ending then you'll likely find this to be one of the year's best.
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