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No Country for Old Men
Review Written by: Alex Sandell If
some mother-fucker points this thing at you, don't even
bother running. You're not gonna make it.
No Country for Old Men is
a well-crafted film with some
quirky, funny dialog and that brutal violence that is becoming a Coen
Bros. trademark. Still, when compared to similar Coen output like Fargo and Blood Simple, the
movie is a disappointment. It's far too
close to Blood Simple
for its own good, with the Coen Bros.
rehashing many of the same tricks that worked so well for them in the
past.
In a lot of ways the movie is almost a remake of both Fargo and Blood Simple. A
more
meandering version of two superior films. The comedy and
clever dialog that was in Fargo
is nearly non-existent in this one and the suspense -- which does still
manage to work -- isn't as original as it was when it was found in Blood Simple 23
years prior. But what hurts No
Country for Old Men more than anything is its repetitive
nature.
The movie
is stuck like an MP3 player on a loop with 3
or 4 songs (I was going to say, "Like a CD
player on shuffle," but that made me feel old). Man hides money. Bad guy
tracks man. Bad guy kills innocent
people who did not take the money. Bad guy and man with money injure
each other. Man hides money. Bad guy tracks man. Bad guy kills innocent
people who did not take the money. Bad guy and man with money injure
each other. Wash, rinse, repeat add a few funny lines from a mumbling
Tommy Lee Jones and a few funny lines from an easily excitable young
cop and you essentially have the essence of the movie. That being said,
there's still a lot to like here.
The first half of the film is great. It's only when you realize
you're watching the same thing over and over again and that the
best moments were already done in
Blood Simple
that you start wondering how
this movie tricked so many into giving it the startling amount of
praise it has been receiving. This isn't the best movie of 2007 and
isn't close to the best
film from the brothers Coen. Blood
Simple, Fargo
and The Big Lebowski
come immediately to mind as better movies. But for every
issue I have with the film I have a dash of admiration.
The performances are incredible from start to finish. Josh Brolin could
carry the movie all on his own (he's came a long way since The Goonies),
but doesn't need to as Javier Bardem -- as his soulless nemesis -- is
so absolutely cold and intimidating the interplay (and gunplay) between
the two becomes an acting tour de force. It is these two that
keep
you watching during the repetitive second half of the film and make the
movie one to recommend. Don't believe the hype on this one and don't go
in expecting a classic. But do go -- for the acting, the cinematography
and some of the wildest gunfights since the days before the West was
tamed.
