Week 2 Film Special: No Country for Old Men

The most critically acclaimed film that I have reviewed or done specials on thus far, No Country's stellar performances and provocative nature make it both disliked and adored by viewers. The film was honored with many awards, including three British Academy of Film awards, two Golden Globes, and four Academy Awards for: Best Picture Best Director (Coen Brothers), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem). To truly appreciate the film, it is necessary to think below the surface of the events taking place and understand the context as well as the big picture of the plot. Without this way of thinking, the film can seem dull and as if the plot goes in little direction of importance. The themes of fate, circumstance, and cat-and-mouse pursuit are what truly make the film superb, in my and many critics opinions.

Release Date: 2007
Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Genre: Drama
Main Cast: Tommy Lee Jones (as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell) Javier Bardem (as Anton Chigurh) and Josh Brolin (as Llewelyn Moss)
Based On: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
IMDB Rating: 8.3
My Rating: 8.0
Length: 122 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $25 million/$171 million

Left to Right: Brolin, Jones, Bardem

Plot:
The plot of the film revolves around the three main characters and their three independent themes that end up intermixing. Sheriff Bell has seen the rate of violence in his region increase significantly in the recent times. This is followed by the protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, stumbling upon a broken drug deal with multiple deaths in the countryside during a antelope hunting excursion. Looking through the wreckage and dead bodies, he finds a case with 2 million dollars in it. Instead of walking away and contacting authorities, he takes the case with him, thus initiating the following chain of events: Moss sends his wife away and starts running with the money to avoid capture. Meanwhile, hitman Anton Chigurh starts following the clues of the stolen money, killing multiple investigating officers along the way. He follows Moss to a motel thanks to a transponder located in Moss's case of money. However, Moss tricks him by staying in a different room and escapes. Moss is chased to a border-town motel where he is wounded, and taken to a hospital. Another hired man to return the money offers his assistance for the money, but is subsequently murdered soon after his meeting with Moss by Chigurh. Moss escapes to a final hotel where he is finally caught and murdered by Chigurh. Moss's wife had tipped Bell to attempt to save her husband, but Bell was too late. During Chigurh's escape with the money, he kills Moss's wife and is then involved in a car accident in which he is blatantly wounded, but he walks off none-the-less. Sheriff Bell then shares two dreams that he had with his wife that had direct correlation with the storyline of the film.

My Synopsis:
The depth and attention to tiny details of this film is incredible, as they are many forms of symbolism and connections between the characters. The simple cat-and-mouse plot kept the storyline flowing, while the superb acting by the main three actors in the film, namely Javier Bardem, caused that simple plot to seem well-thought and more complex that it was in reality. Bardem's excellency earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor, which in my opinion was a major understatement. His acting role in this film is easily top 5 all-time in my opinion by a antagonist, if not by any character. His subtle ways of conversing with the people he was about to kill was so creepy and realistic that it nearly frightened myself. In one scene, Bardem converses with a gas station employee, confusing him immensely, before giving him the flip of a coin to decide his fate. Bardem uses this fate of the coin often throughout the film, similar to Harvey Two-Face in The Dark Knight, as well as a captive bolt pistol, a high-powered air compressed gun. The film does not have any extreme action or jump-out-of-your-seat excitement. Instead it presents the plot and character development subtly. Brolin evading Bardem throughout the film to keep his fortune until he his luck finally runs out is the prevailing theme. However, the depth of that theme is characterized by the relationship that Barden and Brolin share, even though they are the cat and mouse, they still share similarities of needing something more than the fiscal medium they desire. At the end of the film, Tommy Lee Jones' character shares two dreams that he has had with his wife, essentially concluding the film. Both the content and context of the dream characterize the essence of the film's themes, both losing money and expecting positive endings to life are addressed in the dreams.

I hope that this review has somewhat helped you understand the meaning behind the themes in this film. At least the next time you view this film you will have a better idea of what to look for below the surface of the storyline, and thus can better enjoy the film as a whole.

-Jarid Holliday