No Country For Old Men

PASSING THOUGHTS
Don’t let the title fool you; watching No Country for Old Men will swiftly convince you that there’s no country for young men either. Or women. Or children. In fact, said country really only caters to psychos with arsenals comprised of compressed air—traffic violations aside.

The movie comes from a novel of the same name written by Cormac McCarthy, and the story is told with the same patient pacing a book would have. There are long shots of scenery and landscapes, and the camera lingers on individuals in such a way that you can almost hear the novel’s narrative describing the person and their demeanor to you. The result is a very deliberate, very rich unfolding of the plot that stands out in a time when the filmmaking trend is to use a lot of cuts and flashes to inject as much stimulus into an audience as possible.

That said, there isn’t a whole lot of plot to unfold. The story isn’t so much about its three main characters as it is about its theme: violence. While it does have elements of a suspense, action, comedy, and western, I think it would most properly fit in the category of “parable”. (I’m pretty sure I’m making up a new category here, but I’m just rolling with the punches.) Much like a parable, this film uses protagonists and antagonists to advance an overall thought or conclusion, not necessarily to tell a certain person’s story. The characters are certainly interesting enough to watch, and the actors are fantastic in the roles they play, but by the end you get the feeling that they were never designed to be the focus. It is a credit to the Coen brothers (Fargo, O’ Brother Where Art Thou?) that they are able to make you care about the fate of the characters (and thus to generate suspense) and to find interest in the plot, while also giving you the freedom to look past both characters and plot when the credits start rolling.

In terms of production, one of the most notable deviances from the norm is the almost complete lack of a soundtrack. Other than faint underscoring at the beginning and end of the film, (and a very brief performance by a robust group of Mexican musicians) there is no music. –And you don’t miss it. This is a huge accomplishment, since so many times music is needed to illicit the intended emotional response from an audience. At its best, music is a welcome accompaniment; at its worst, music is a crutch to patch over bad dialogue or shoddy filmmaking. But the storytelling is so well done that the movie needs neither accompaniment nor crutch, and it succeeds in creating moments without any music at all.

BASICS

Your Cup O’ Tea:
If you enjoy suspense, a gradually unfolding (albeit simple) plot, solid dialogue, grim violence, and a thought-provoking finish.

Steer Clear:
If you’re looking for a feel-good, heroes-triumph-over-villains type story.

Nothing New Under the Sun:
Has the resourcefulness of The Fugitive, the relentless pursuit and emotionless execution of “The Terminator”, and, for the first twenty minutes or so, the dialogue volume of Castaway. (Not to mention the villain’s propensity for flipping a coin to decide a person’s fate, much like Two-Face of “Batman Forever”.)

Buy or Rent:
RENT. Not a whole lot of replay value here. While there’s some minor ambiguity, there’s nothing crucial that will be revealed in the light of a second viewing. Not exactly a fun-times-shoot-em-up romp that will make it appealing enough to take off the shelf within the next six months.

FEATURES

-Oscar Winner for Best Picture

-Scene Selection

-Subtitles

-Register DVD (Yay!)

-Making of No Country for Old Men
Featurette, approx 24 minutes. Nothing particularly revealing here. Brief looks at casting, defining the movie genre, the set, and the costumes. A little talk about the novel and what the film means, as well as a few shots of some storyboards used. DUH! FACTOR: 6 out of 10

-Working with the Coens
Essentially a short collection of praises from cast and crew
regarding how awesome the Coens are. Not much new info…but you’ll want to work with the Coens on their next project. DUH! FACTOR: 9 out of 10

-Diary of a County Sheriff
A brief exploration into the character of Sheriff Ed Bell
and a bit more on the main themes of the film. DUH! FACTOR: 8 out of 10

Woulda Been Nice: The Coens seem like a thoughtful pair. A director’s commentary might have made a second viewing worthwhile.