Review of No Country For Old Men

"No Country for Old Men" Review and Analysis

"No Country for Old Men" Review and Analysis by Brandon Choi Note: Contains spoilers I think that "No Country for Old Men" is somewhat difficult to review because it has gotten so many great reviews. I read the buzz on the internet and the TV ad for the movie shows all of the positive reviews from people who are supposed to have credibility. I visit Rotten Tomatoes and am forced to notice on the left side of the page that there is an awfully high approval rating for the movie. I went into Ethan and Joel Coen's latest picture looking to nitpick any flaws to talk about but I'm still having a hard time trying to think of any major problems worth talking about in detail. As a person with minimal knowledge of directors, actors, writers and general film history, and armed only with my own opinionated sense of what's entertaining and what's not, I have to say that this is definitely one of the better movies I have ever seen. Probably the main reason I think highly of "No Country for Old Men" is because its characters and themes contrast most other movies out there. While I may be generalizing a bit too much with this statement, I feel that most movies, including movies that I think are good movies, like "American Gangster," are too vanilla. The characters are oftentimes very standard and archetypical of virtuous people, with the heroes being great guys/gals with mostly positive and oftentimes very likeable qualities and strong core principles, always able to find a way to win by the end, and the villains being vile people with weak principles that contribute to their downfalls. Themes are usually positive, usually involving something like good deeds and hope in life. "No Country for Old Men" definitely does not follow these trends. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), protagonist, is a genuinely good guy but, in his old age, he does not have the will, or perhaps even the ability, to accomplish his goals of capturing the killer and saving Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin). Llewelyn Moss, protagonist, is very caring of his wife and is by no means a horrible guy, but has weak character qualities, as shown when he steals the money and guns from the crime scene and also when he lies to his wife and flirts with another woman toward the end of the film. Llewelyn's a decent shot but really lacks any remarkable skill or ability, hinted at early when he fails to kill a deer when hunting during one of the opening scenes, and later confirmed when he fails to protect himself and his family. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), antagonist, is an expert killer and tracker- a murderous monster with a rigid (yet twisted) set of principles. He acts the way he believes is correct for his specific situation without regard for how others may be affected. It would be an understatement to say that "No Country for Old Men" portrays a pessimistic outlook on the natural course of life. The movie emphasizes how the aging process takes its toll on a person. Qualities that can characterize a young person, like intellect, charm, idealism and beauty, all erode as years pass. The movie effectively keys in on this theme through Sheriff Ed Tom Bell's character. While pursuing the killer, he is constantly a step behind the killer during his pursuit and later even tells his wife he had retired because he had felt overmatched. Time had slowed him and now he feels too helpless and hopeless to overcome the challenges that have been presented to him. The movie's theme is also shown in the interaction between Anton and Llewelyn. Anton seems to represent the inevitability of aging and death, and Llewelyn desperately tries to avoid him throughout the movie. Anton always seems to know where Llewelyn is, and Llewelyn and his wife are destined to be killed. The theme of the inevitability of growing old and eventual death is troubling. It's so simple and obvious, but so maddening. As people, we are just thrust into a situation, a role that we play out one way or another. We really don't know anything except what we can sense and what we choose to believe. We gradually lose everything we had been given, not only what we personally have but also the people that we care for. It happens slowly enough that you can see it coming from far away but there's not a thing that you can do except to just anticipate it. It's impossible to know what happens after death, and because of this, the fact that we will all grow old and pass is tragic. Life is a tragedy because of the uncertainty in death. "No Country for Old Men" is refreshing because of its interesting characters and dialogue. The action scenes are entertaining and I think that the amount of action in the movie isn't too over the top. The scenes where Anton stalks Llewelyn are suspenseful and nicely done. Depth and meaning aside, "No Country for Old Men" is just an entertaining movie and one of the best I have seen lately.

Posted on 11/29/07 by: bjc220 11:13 AM