No Country for Old Men

After only hinting at their trademark darkness in the past few years, the Coen Brothers are back in full-force with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, a brilliant tour-de-force of directing and acting. Adapted from the Cormac MCarthy novel, but still retaining all the stylistics and quirks of the directors, they have created perhaps their bleakest film yet; one that creates a thrilling balance between moments of shocking violence and unsettling silence. Featuring career-defining performances from Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, the film is a must-see and nothing less than the best film of the year.

The main story follows Llewellyn Moss (Brolin), a hunter who stumbles upon a stash of drugs and millions of dollars following a deadly shoot-out in the middle of a Texas nowhere. He takes the money but leaves one of the victims alive, who eventually hires a ruthless killer, Anton Chigurh (Bardem) to retrieve the money. All the while, Moss knows he’s being hunted, sending his confused wife (Kelly Macdonald) to her mother’s while a verge-of-retirement sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones) tries to pick up the pieces of the crime and save Moss before it is too late. While Moss’s story drives the film, Chigurh and Bell’s stories are nearly as important, and the glimpses into their past are often more intriguing than Moss’s.

This is due mainly in part to the astounding performances, especially from Bardem and Jones. While Brolin puts forth his strongest work in his perhaps not-so-distinguished career, he cannot help but be outshined by the two men whose characters hold much of the intrigue and meaning of the piece. As Chigurh, Bardem is at once terrifying and hilarious. His mannerisms in his interactions with various local folk and his night-stalking of Moss do not change, but once he reveals his weapon (maybe the most chill-inducing prop ever) his dry comic timing becomes serious, silent and horrifying. He is more than just a driven killer; the lengths he drives himself to and the methods he uses to make himself invisible illustrate a deeper psychological purpose that is spoken of only a few times in the film. Jones is equally as impressive; he imbues his character with a weary, melancholy air that also proves hilarious and heart-wrenching. He delivers most of his lines with a dry bent that get most of the film’s laughs, yet when he muses about his own life, the film enters its most meaningful parts. It is from Bell that the title is driven, and it is from Bell it gets its meaning.

While the film is superbly constructed on all levels, the Coen Brothers made their masterpiece a center point of how effective editing and sound design can be. Aside from the suspenseful sequences with Chigurh, the film is a very muted affair; people never raise their voices when speaking to each other and nothing, not the rumbling of outside traffic, not even Carter Burwell’s score seems to intrude on it. This is what makes the suspense sequences all the more effective; no matter how much it may be hinted, the sudden bursts of noise (a lock popping out, a car exploding, etc.) always get a start from the viewer, eventually leading them into a state of tension that they cannot escape from. And when the noise begins, what follows it truly horrifying. Shockingly violent, but in a very real way, these sequences are perhaps the strongest the Coen Brothers have ever created. Of particular note is when Moss and Chigurh actually meet in a decadent Southern hotel. Their shoot-out leads into the street, and every second it goes on, the viewer becomes more and more affected.

The Coen Brothers still retain their sense of humor, contrasting the chilling violence with the studies of small-town American eccentrics they’re known for. Yet they have set out to accomplish something different with this film, and they succeed on all levels. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a harrowing experience, leaving the viewer in a state of shock by its finish. It isn’t gratuitous at all; in fact the most intriguing parts of the film come from what we’re not shown. The film is an experience not to be missed. It is, without a doubt, a crowning achievement for the Coen Brothers.

****