Writer: Jeane ReveendranWriter Ratings:Overall: Cast: Plot: Effects: Cinematography: Watch this if you liked: "Fargo", "Blood Simple" and "Professional".
A drug deal gone wrong leads to hunter, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), finding a bag filled with 2 million in cash. He takes it with not much hesitation, but fails to cover his tracks. Forced to run from the people who want the money back, he learns that only one of them is worth fearing, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), possibly the most psychotic hit man hired to find Moss and the money. In the midst of this chase, the practically retired Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) gets involved by trying to protect Moss from a ruthless killer.
For more than two decades, award-winning directors the Coen brothers have made movies that intertwine dry humour with acute irony and visuals that are intended to shock audiences. They pay close attention to every character that graces the screen with exaggerated attributes and peculiarities. Hence, although the movie is etched with extreme violence, it is laced with their sense of humour with peculiar yet normal characters.
Brolin, Bardem and Jones come off as very strong characters. Namely, Brolin sucks audiences into his character and causes them to react to his attempts of running away with the money and saving his life. Bardem's take on Chigurh's character is exceptional. He manages to send chills down your spine just by looking at his face. His demeanor is calm but the undercurrent that he brings onscreen is terribly haunting.
Although the film is very intense, Jones's character Sheriff Bells portrays a rather calm aura. His role in this film is mostly to deliver cleverly written lines in an intelligent way. Moreover, all characters pulled off the dry humour laced in practically every scene very well, making audiences laugh despite it being such a graphically violent movie.
The Coens made a bold and very important statement when they chose to use the natural environment for their movie soundtrack instead of eerie music that would probably have devalued the fear factor. This added to the realism of something so absurd.
Violence in this movie proves to be highly graphic and intense. For instance, choosing to spend a little more time on an open bullet wound, the Coens captured the essence of violence in its bare form. Although it does not climax emotionally or physically, it works with the movie's design because it is not a typical action film with guns going off on all corners of the screen.
After watching "No Country For Old Men", many might wonder why they may suffer flashbacks of particular scenes and that unforgettable feeling of being hunted. Every scene is carefully thought out, and the dialogue exquisitely delivered. As a result of the Coens' cinematic style, one can't expect an uncomplicated story (such as the hunter becoming the hunted) to turn out the way one imagines it to. So be prepared for something different. Although adapted from a McCarthy's novel, they did their brotherly best to bring out their distinctive way of telling a story.
Cinema Online, 23 September 2008