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No Country For Old Men film review
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Running time: 122 mins
Starring: Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald
Coming up with original and innovative ways to kill people has become quite a challenge for writers, so Cormac McCarthy deserves credit for the creative method he ascribed to the sociopathic murderer in his novel on which No Country For Old Men is based. Anton Chigurh's (Javier Bardem) dispassionate use of a cattle stun gun will rank him alongside cinema's more memorable killers, conjuring as it will the disarming sight of him lugging around a large container of compressed air. With much to praise in the chillingly violent and taut No Country For Old Men, it will inevitably be the image of Chigurh administering his preferred method of execution that will linger.
In previous films such as Blood Simple and Fargo, the Coen brothers have shown a predilection for blending disturbing violence with dark humour, but they have bathed No Country For Old Men in an altogether blacker hue. McCarthy's story lends itself perfectly to the Coen brothers' distinctive vision. Possessed of a warped reality, the film offers familiar settings that appear detached from normality. The regular world and those who inhabit it rarely intrude leaving just the desperate and the deranged.
When distilled, McCarthy's story is simplistic, placing instead more emphasis on the characters. While out hunting in the Texas desert, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) happens upon the carnage of a failed drug deal. Amidst the bloody bodies and bullet-riddled vehicles he finds $2m cash in a leather case. When the owners of the money return and discover Moss, the chase is on. Of those in pursuit of Moss, the most dangerous is Chigurh who, having recently escaped capture by strangling a policeman, is inclined to kill anyone who gets in his way. For those unfortunate enough to cross his path, life or death is occasionally determined by something as arbitrary as the toss of a coin.
The Coen brothers steer events at a languid pace, prepared as they are to allow events and scenes to linger and breath. Filling many of the quiet spaces is Tommy Lee Jones as the weary and philosophical Sheriff Bell. Having spent a career dealing with society's detritus, he is questioning his future. It's a marvelous performance with Bell's tough life etched deeply into Jones' features. Brolin's time has arrived and his portrayal of the resolute but strained Moss, who is determined to hold on to his windfall even in the face of death, is yet further proof of his growing stature. But it is Bardem's embodiment of the disquieting and merciless Chigurh that provides No Country For Old Men with its resonance. His presence provides the palpable tension, while the masterful setting provided by the Coen brothers and Roger Deakins' muted and spare photography amplify it to a riveting level.
Kevin Murphy
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