Get Out More................................Film Review

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (15, General Release)

21-01-2008

The Coen Brothers latest release, about a serial killer on the loose hunting down $2 million dollars, has been described as their best movie to date – which is no mean feat when you consider their track record includes the likes of “Fargo” and “The Big Lebowski.” Paula Elenor gets in the line of fire.

“No Country For Old Men” has already picked up a Golden Globe award for its producer/director combo the Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel.

With the Baftas and Oscars coming up, I wouldn’t mind putting some money on this movie collecting more prizes – even with strong competition from “Antonement” and Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” (reviewed here).

Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, this is a gripping crime thriller with a difference.

The path of bloody mayhem left by a serial killer and his pursuit by the decent “ole boy” Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) takes on mythic resonances. Familiar territory for a Coen brothers’ film you say, thinking of “Fargo” and “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”

But this film has a darker edge and demands even more from its audience in terms of moral questions about law and order and justice in a post–Vietnam, 1980’s America.

Set in Texas, Vietnam veteran Llewlyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the aftermath of shoot-out between Mexican drug dealers. Ever resourceful, he finds the $2Million dollars they were fighting over, makes arrangements to protect his wife Carla Jean (played by Brit Kelly McDonald) and goes on the run.

He is systematically hunted down by a crazy hit man hired to recover the cash, Anton Chigurh (don’t pronounce it Sugar) played by Javier Bardem ( I predict awards for him!) And he, in turn, is hunted with clinical efficiency by a bounty hunter (Woody Harrelson) and, of course, the not-to-be under-estimated local sheriff.

A series of twists, shocks and bloody revelations keep the audience completely transfixed.

The setting is used brilliantly as an evocative backdrop to casual killings, with small town life and ordinary Americans trying to maintain some sense of decency in the midst of this carnage.

The use of spectacular landscapes is in the tradition of John Ford, and in a way Sheriff Bell, happier on a horse than in a truck, is like a cowboy hero, comfortable in the mythic vastness of America, but also puzzled by the brutality it spawns.

As we move to its end (but no resolution), the resonances of the title leave you moved and unsettled.

As you might expect from a Coen brothers film, the dialogue is spare, but telling, with some very witty and ironic observations from the least likely characters. The black comedy makes you laugh, but it is never nihilistic.

Well, as you can see, I think this film is stupendous. The lead performances are absolutely right and well judged. I rated 'Lust, Caution' last week, but I believe that this is better – although they are very different films and so it may not be fair to compare them in this way. So, go on, give it a whirl.

To see a trailer, click here

Have you seen No Country For Old Men?

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