No Country For Old Men- Review
So yesterday I finished this film but neglected to post this review before Trainspotting. Anyway, I have a feeling this will be one heck of an unpopular movie review. In all honesty, I really didn't enjoy this film but I'll get to those reasons later. This movie features the talents of Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin and was directed by the Coen brothers (who are brilliant by the way).
Without taking too much away from this film, it follows Anton Chigurh, a hitman who scours the Texan outback in search of Llewelyn Moss who was unlucky enough to see a drug deal gone wrong and responsible for taking two million dollars from the scene. It is also set in the 1980s if you need explanation for the ugly dining ware that you may see in some of the households.
The performances: Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell was pretty disappointing. While a relevant character and important, I found the performance to be a little dry. If anything, every time he appeared on the scene I felt like falling asleep. I could barely understand him as he mumbled in his Texan accent and had to turn my volume way up past 50 just to understand him. Obviously this man is well-presented and has been noted for many other films but I just don't think this was a shining star moment for him. To me, he was pretty forgettable in this role.
Javier Bardem always reminds me of Sylvester Stallone in appearance (don't ask me why) but as the role of Anton, I think he did a pretty okay job. I enjoyed how he was upfront, direct and straight to business. I could imagine him as being another version of two-face after watching this. I also throughout enjoyed how he carried out his violence, cooly and calmly. A pure psychopathic killer. Although he doesn't appear like his description in the book, with "eyes as blue as lapis" he still manages to make that description non-existent.
Josh Brolin as Llewelyn was a pretty satisfying role. I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse chases, his fearlessness and determination. Obviously not too much can be spoken about the role in fear of spoilers but definitely do keep an eye out for the man that never wavers his characterisation.
The cons: Time for my unpopular opinion. In all honesty, I really didn't get much out of this movie. I knew nothing about it going in and felt just as clueless when I came out. At parts I found myself to be falling asleep and I did my best to keep my eyes open but I can't say that I enjoyed this. The Coen Brothers are amazing no doubt, but I don't believe this was their most defining movie. My favourite movie by them is The Big Lebowski. Sure, it's a genre change and more serious too, but it really just didn't grab me all the same. I certainly do not agree with the BBC who said that this movie had "suspense sequences... that rival the best of Hitchcock." I know that those of you who have seen this had brilliant things to say about it afterwards, but I unfortunately do not.
Trust me, there was brilliant scenic value thanks to cinematographer Roger Deakins and elements of this movie, such as the violence, that I appreciated but it really wasn't anything special. I have yet to go through the rest of the Coen Brothers' filmography but hopefully I won't be too disappointed. I still have faith with these men, so let's keep that rolling.
Score: 3/10
Rating: MA15+ Strong violence