By Eric Eisenberg
Since their arrival in cinemas in 1984 with Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen have continued to make films about bad people doing bad things to, generally, other bad people. Since the arrival of the Oscar winning Fargo in 1996, however, the Coen Brothers have strayed from their bloody, dramatic roots in favor of comedies. While the films ranged from incredible (The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) to embarrassing (The Ladykillers), the Coen Brothers have returned to their roots in full force with No Country for Old Men.
While the film follows a multitude of characters, it focuses on a close-lipped Texan named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) who stumbles upon a multitude of dead bodies and $2 million in cash. The money is not without an owner, and Moss starts getting tracked by a sociopathic demon named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Armed with a silenced shotgun and a pressurized cattle gun, Chigurh hunts down Moss looking for his treasure and taking down anyone in his way.
Also on the hunt for Moss is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who discovers Moss’ abandoned truck at the crime scene, and a former Army Lieutenant Colonel named Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) who, because of an ambiguous past relationship with Chigurh, is hired to find the money as well.
In his performance as the stoic murderer Chigurh, Bardem, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Before Night Falls, is stunning and although he is surrounded by a terrific supporting cast, he is truly the star. His baritone voice makes both the speakers in the theater and the audience quake, and his sadistic intelligence puts him ten steps ahead of every other character. Coming out of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, the Coen Brothers’ only comparable character is that of filthy bounty hunter Leonard Smalls from Raising Arizona, but Chigurh makes Smalls look like a sad puppy with a broken leg.
Another element to the film’s credit is the scenery and setting that is explored throughout. Immediately opening to shots of the Texas desert, cinematographer Roger Deakins employs the border towns in every outdoor shot. The desert and dust give the film a light sepia tone and calmness that is broken only by splatters of blood and chaos.
The film succeeds in its storytelling because of its ability to stay so attached to its source material. In the Coen brothers’ first attempt at working from a published work, it is obvious that they wanted to be sure to retain the integrity and veracity of the original piece. Events in the book are transcribed with care and conciseness not seen since The Maltese Falcon.
Although the story is dramatic, the Coens carefully insert lines of dialogue that are either naturally funny or so scary that you laugh from being nervous. While the tension is palpable, the audience cannot help but let out nervous chuckles when Chigurh is using a coin toss to determine a man’s fate.
The makeup effects, done by Brian Hillard, also take a special place in this movie, as more bullets are put into people than food. Gushing bullet wounds full of imported fake-blood look disturbingly real and make the audience question what the directors are putting their actors through. Wardrobe and hair, including Bardem’s strange do, preserve the period look (although the period was only 25 years ago).
Jones, once again playing the role of the seasoned cop, as he did most recently alongside Charlize Theron in Paul Haggis’ In The Valley of Elah, which came out earlier this year, delivers a great performance as close-to-retirement lawman who is slowly realizing the competition that he is up against in finding Moss as well as the changing nature of outlaws. Jones sells the audience in his portrayal of Sheriff Bell and his performance is better than any other leading actor thus far this year, only Josh Brolin and Daniel Day Lewis, from There Will Be Blood, giving any competition.
As a Coen Brothers film, No Country for Old Men represents a return to the fierce blood and guts roots that they established so strongly from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. As a standalone film, No Country is nothing short of an artistic achievement.
© Eric Eisenberg, All Rights Reserved