No Country For This Guy
No Country For Old Men
In a stone-faced, yet somehow nuanced performance, Javier Bardem, delivers the goods both to the viewer and anyone unlucky enough to get in his way. No Country For Old Men follows Anton Chigurh (Bardem) as he attempts to reconnect himself with two million dollars in cash, gone missing when a drug deal goes south. South, as in West Texas, which may explain how Tommy Lee Jones was called upon to play the sheriff. This might be Jones’ best performance--it certainly beats Men In Black. The film is unsettling and often hard to watch because of the extreme violence perpetrated in nearly every scene. The body count is high, and only worthwhile tolerating if you have a morbid fascination with a murderous psychopath on an endless blood spree. Some have called this brilliant film making--and if you ignore the repetitive plot and questionable character motivations, judging it solely on its razor-sharp dialogue and brilliant performances, then perhaps it is. But a date movie, it ain’t. No Country For Old Men is better left for film school.
In a stone-faced, yet somehow nuanced performance, Javier Bardem, delivers the goods both to the viewer and anyone unlucky enough to get in his way. No Country For Old Men follows Anton Chigurh (Bardem) as he attempts to reconnect himself with two million dollars in cash, gone missing when a drug deal goes south. South, as in West Texas, which may explain how Tommy Lee Jones was called upon to play the sheriff. This might be Jones’ best performance--it certainly beats Men In Black. The film is unsettling and often hard to watch because of the extreme violence perpetrated in nearly every scene. The body count is high, and only worthwhile tolerating if you have a morbid fascination with a murderous psychopath on an endless blood spree. Some have called this brilliant film making--and if you ignore the repetitive plot and questionable character motivations, judging it solely on its razor-sharp dialogue and brilliant performances, then perhaps it is. But a date movie, it ain’t. No Country For Old Men is better left for film school.
posted by Ridley at 5:00 PM
3 Comments:
I downloaded the book from Audible.com a couple of years ago to listen to on my iPod while riding the MetroLink to and from work. I never finished it. I don't think I got very far, in fact. AND, it's the only time I've called Audible.com to try to return something. (Answer: no)
THEN, I heard it was made into a movie.
THEN, I heard it was nominated as best film.
I realized I am no longer Hollywood's target audience.
There were absolutely no likable characters in the book. I don't know if Jones' character was introduced during the short part I read, or if he's likable in the movie. Since the rule of thumb is the book is better than the movie, I'm gonna skip it.
By the way, I enjoy your reviews.
Yes, thanks for your reviews:
I will wait for this one to come out in rental format!
Or maybe even airplane flight?
Good to know someone of your caliber felt the same about the movie. I reviewed this film last year and was very blunt in my assessment.
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