Welcome - My First Review

So after much pestering by a certain friend we all know, I finally relented and have started a blog that probably only she will read. I decided to stick mainly to entertainment related topics like film and television, but may occasionally foray into the wild world of...something else. I have some ideas for ongoing features, but for the most part, I'll probably stick to reviews. On that note, here's the latest review I've written, which I'm sure needs more editing, but I think will do for now. Hope you enjoy and come back for more!

REVIEW: "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"

I know this movie has already been out for at least a month and is therefore a dubious choice for my first review, but hey, it’s the first movie I’ve seen in the theater this month. By now, you’ve probably all read plenty of reviews and seen all the ads with sound bites claiming it is the “best film of the year” and that it’s on “more top 10 lists than any other film.” Well, I don’t want to disabuse you of that notion, because the fact is, it is one of the best films of the year.

The film centers on two very different individuals, both concerned with possessing a case of stolen drug money. Llewlyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a quiet, quick-thinking man who stumbles across the cash while hunting in the wide open spaces of desolate Texas terrain. Unfortunately for him, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is intent on finding that case and won’t hesitate to kill any and all who stand in his way. Chigurh carries an oxygen tank with him and uses it in surprising and ingenious ways that I will leave for you to discover. Suffice to say, it leaves a definitive signature on places he has been. A majority of the film involves a delicate game of cat and mouse played between the two men, often coming unwittingly close to calamity. The plot also has room for Tommy Lee Jones as a weathered sheriff, anxious to keep Llewelyn from certain doom, Woody Harrelson as a damage controller who has encountered Chigurh before, and Kelly MacDonald as Llewelyn’s wife, Carla Jean, the only person in the film to face down Chigurh and really challenge his ideology.

Much has been written about the character of Anton Chigurh and the performance of Javier Bardem. Is he a trained assassin, hired to track down the missing money? Or is he not really a man, but representative of a force, impenetrable and resolute? He is fearsome in his intensity. A dime-store manager finds this out when he tries to make small talk with the killer and finds himself bargaining for his life in a terrifying coin-toss. Harrelson’s Mr. Wells describes Chigurh as not the “ultimate badass,” but someone who “just doesn’t have a sense of humor.” Indeed, Bardem plays him with joyless eyes and a steady, somewhat rational menace. What becomes intriguing about the character as the film progresses is that he seems to exist outside of our world. He is governed by his own code and ordinary men are no match for the relentless threat of his existence. Javier Bardem is a famous Spanish actor, much acclaimed for his roles in Before Night Falls and The Sea Inside, but largely unknown in America. With the power and ambiguity he brings to this role, it is no surprise he has been racking up critics’ awards and is a likely lock for an Oscar nomination.

The film is no slouch in its other lead performances. Josh Brolin brings an unexpected maturity to his role. Llewelyn is kind, direct, uses common sense and his only flaw is thinking his idealistic intentions are a match for Chigurh’s implacable pursuit. Tommy Lee Jones brings much needed calm and strength to Sheriff Bell. When he is on screen, we trust this man to do what is right and say what needs to be said. He opens the film with a monologue that speaks volumes about the facts and fears of growing older and finding that the world may not be as innocent as once thought. Bell’s eyes grow increasingly anxious as he confronts the reality of a man as relentless as Chigurh.

This is a return to form for the Coen brothers after disappointing films like The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty. Even without much humor, this film rivals their best work. It was filmed mainly in New Mexico, only parts on location in West Texas, but captures the open emptiness of the wide, dry country. The opening montage contains beautiful landscapes, but the lighting and editing of the confrontations in cheap motel rooms is skillful in evoking the desperation of the characters and also heightening the tension. The film’s score contains no discernable music, but is full of ambient sound that adds texture and sounds loudly in the empty spaces. I knew properly paced footsteps and squeaky hinges could foreshadow danger, but who knew the wind could be so effectively formidable.

I don’t know much about the writing of Cormac McCarthy, on whose novel the film is based, but a little research finds that the film is more or less a faithful adaptation. What I love about the writing is that it manages to combine great storytelling and well-drawn characters into a musing about larger, abstract ideas. This film appeases both critics and the common-man by exploring the inherent meaninglessness in violence and death, but disguising it as a first-rate thriller.