No Country for Old Men gets everything right, and should be viewed as the Coen Brothers’ best effort and the defining film of the 2000s.
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Genre: Western, Psychological Thriller, Crime, Drama
Run Time: 122′
Rated: R
U.S. Release: November 9, 2007
U.K. Release: January 18, 2008
Where to Watch: On Digital & VOD
You’d be hard pressed to find a line of dialogue (or a scene, or a performance, or anything, really) in No Country for Old Men that isn’t perfect. But different lines will stand out to you each time you watch it. For me, in what had to be the 10th viewing of this Joel and Ethan Coen classic, it’s an exchange between Josh Brolin’s Llewellyn Moss and a woman sitting by the pool of a motel. Moss is on the run from Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a hitman trying to retrieve a briefcase full of cash Moss took from the site of a botched drug deal.
The woman asks Moss what he’s doing. “Lookin’ for what’s comin’,” he says. “But no one ever sees that,” she responds.
No Country for Old Men is ultimately about the inconsistency and chaos of life. And the Coens capture that chaos in a controlled, commanding movie, the best of their career and one of the best of the century. Pull out any line, and it will probably point you towards this message of desperate uncertainty.
Another standout piece of dialogue comes when Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) talks with his uncle about retiring as sheriff after trying (and ultimately failing) to apprehend Chigurh. The distraught, defeated Bell tells his uncle: “I feel overmatched…I always thought when I got older, God would sort of come into my life. He didn’t.” Key pieces of philosophical dialogue are woven all throughout the film, but never in a way that feels overly embellished. The Coens seamlessly adapt Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, crafting characters and worldviews in a way that resonates. That’s the sign of a powerful, perfect, Oscar-winning script.
The powerhouse directing duo utilize a sense of deceptive simplicity in the script, both through the dialogue and through the plot itself. On paper, No Country is a simple game of “cat and mouse:” Moss is running from Chigurh, Chigurh is chasing Moss, and Bell tries pursuing Chigurh, though he also spends a significant amount of time behind the desk of his office and at diner tables casually eating food and telling stories. Apathy and lethargy creep into the Bell character (if it wasn’t already there), introducing the theme of deterioration, both of the aging Bell himself and the corrupt society, the “dismal tide” he sees emerging within the next generation.
Every single plot point says something about the characters, and therefore something about the real world, from Moss choosing to put his wife and mother-in-law in potential danger to the knockout final monologue from Jones preceding a shocking cut to black. The specific character and plot choices the Coens make throughout the film not only make for a thrilling story, but a deeply contemplative one.
Another piece of evidence for this deceptive simplicity is in the performances. Bardem (who won an Oscar for this role) plays Chigurh as a mythical, haunting presence, lurking silently around every corner. Bell even admits he feels the man is “pretty much a ghost” in the middle of his pursuit. Brolin brings a sense of everyman energy while also adding a light touch of Coens-level humor, despite this being one of their more serious efforts. Jones as Bell is the standout, though. His silently struggling sheriff ranks among some of my all-time favorite screen performances. He delivers his opening and closing monologues with a tortured precision that will make any audience immediately sympathetic towards him. Throw in the great Roger Deakins and his hot, uncomfortable color-graded cinematography and an absent score, and one of the most technically innovative and narratively fascinating films in recent memory emerges.
One more exchange stands out. Chigurh has tracked down Moss’s wife, Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) towards the end of No Country. He tells her to call his coin flip to decide her own fate. She tells him, “The coin ain’t got no say. It’s just you.” In the middle of this chaotic world the Coens craft in this movie (seemingly depicting their view of the real world), the filmmakers still emphasize the importance of personal choice. These two brothers made a deceptively simple masterpiece, reminding their viewers of that ever-existing dichotomy of choice and chaos. For that reason, and many more, No Country for Old Men will remain among the pantheon of their careers, and of cinema itself.
No Country for Old Men: Movie Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
A Vietnam war veteran stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong, snatching a briefcase filled with $2 million. He is pursued by a deranged hitman and catches the attention of the local authorities, finding himself in over his head, yet not wanting to give up the money, resulting in a thrilling, terrifying game of cat and mouse.
Pros:
- The plot and dialogue work in tandem to not only tell a thrilling story, but also examine deep ideas like chaos, nihilism, and the nature of good and evil.
- The three main leads all give career-defining performances.
- Roger Deakins’ cinematography creates a hot, uncomfortable atmosphere, adding to the already abounding tension.
Cons:
- N/A
No Country for Old Men is now available to watch on digital and on demand.
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