By CAITLIN HANVEY
caitlinhanvey(at)gmail.com

of five

When I walked out of the new Coen Brothers film No Country For Old Men, my first instinct was to go back and see it again. This amazing film, adapted from the book by Cormac McCarthy, is essentially a thriller and yet it surpasses that simplistic description. It is also part western and it is the exploration of this genre which allows the film to resonate so strongly.At heart the film explores the destruction of a certain type of American dream. The collective memory which holds the outlaws and law men of the Old West so dear is challenged as the world around changes and with it the moral guidelines involved in everyday life. The men who hold dear the clear codes of right and wrong are seeing the world they understand falling apart. No longer is there a clarity in good and evil; the boundaries are blurred and the old men of the title are at a loss.

No Country For Old Men begins with Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbling upon a massacre that appears to have been a drug deal gone wrong. After surveying the aftermath he comes across a bag of money, which he takes. So begins the chase as those who own the money hire Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), one of the most chilling psychopaths ever to hit the big screen, to hunt Moss down.

Before this, we have already seen Anton in action, killing coldly and without need. He is by far one of the most disturbing characters in film — not only due to his strange haircut but also his means of killing and the methodical and arbitrary way he picks his victims. Bardem’s cavernous face acts is the perfect canvas for Anton who keeps himself locked behind this mask, never giving much away.

In between these two men is Tommy Lee Jones’ seasoned sheriff, Ed Tom Bell. Bell becomes involved as he begins investigating a string of murders – all of which have been committed by Chigurh. After finding the crime scene where Moss had obtained the money Bell becomes concerned Moss is involved and attempts to find him before Chigurh does. The story is a complex game of cat and mouse full of violence and suspense.

The movie offers a paradox in its strange blend of timelessness and immediacy. In the beginning of the movie it is hard to determine when it is set, the landscape offers no clues and the crackling voiceover offered by Tommy Lee Jones only furthers the feeling that you are about to enter into a story of old school gunmen – bound by honor and tradition. However, this is an unforgiving landscape, even as it seems like a beautiful photograph frozen in time, the illusion is shattered by the violence and blood that is such an intrinsic part of it.

The three main characters seem to chart the evolution of society from the idealized and ordered past to the chaotic amoral present. From Bell, the morally upright lawman with a visible compassion and humanity, through to Moss, a conflicted man who wavers between good deeds and bad constantly making you wonder at his motivations and finally Anton, an emotionally vacant man who is simply defined by violence and isolation. It is a bleak outlook and yet the film has moments of comedy and warmth. It is a beautifully made film and one that keeps you thinking and reconsidering. The Coen Brothers have created an instant classic.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.