No Country for Old Men

Joel and Ethan Coen (2007), based on the book by Cormac Mccarthy.

Action/thriller movie.

Expect a huge mix of adrenalin, violence, chills and thrills.

Texas 1980.. While hunting in the desert, Llewelyn Moss come across the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. He finds a case full of money and decides to take it, but.. Someone cruel and violent is looking for the money too. A dramatic and violent cat-and-mouse drama which is totally breathtaking.

Cast:

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin)= is the main character, a Vietnam veteran who found the case in the Texas`s desert.

Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones)= is a sheriff soon to retire who wants to help Llewelyn to get out and escape from danger.

Anton Chigurgh (Javier Bardem)= is a psychopatic killer without any sense of humour who wants to catch the case from Llewelyn Moss.

Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson)= is a bounty hunter and acquaintance of Chigurgh, also hired to recover the drug money.

Carla Jean Moss (Kelly Macdonald)= Llewelyn`s wife.

In my opinion the most beautiful thing of the movie is how realistic it is. It is a full immersion into the cruel and distorted, I would say also "mad", mind of Anton. The strange and monotonous beauty of the dry Texas`s landscapes give you the sensation to feel the hot sun and the dust of the desert on your skin, and apparently all the silence and calm of that valleys and small towns give you a sense of tragedy, and seems to become a big mess, because you know that something horrible is about to happen. It focuses on the desperate escape of Llewelyn, and you will ask yourself everytime how it`s going to end. You can perceive the desease of the sheriff Ed Tom, soon to retire, who after a life spent catching criminals feels unable to be the law for the last time because time and criminality have completely changed, in a way that he can neither understand and fight anymore, "this is not a country for old men".

Yes, you`re not just a normal spectator, you totally become part of the movie. This is totally gripping.. Such a masterpiece of 2000`s cinema. Can`t miss it.

About 30 minutes into this movie I found myself enjoying it so much and was so engaged that I was thinking maybe this is the 'Psycho' of the 21st century. Great suspense and absolutely fantastic setting.

Some good plot twists but the ever changing point of view of this movie left me not knowing which character(s) to empathise with. This diluted the whole emotional ride that could have been so much more engaging if handled differently.

The ending was wholly unsatisfying and there was a stunned incredulous silence in the theatre I was in when the titles began to roll.

A great bad guy almost as nasty and twisted as Scorpio (Dirty Harry). Very well acted great plot lines, and a sudden stop ending, well done Bro`s. If you liked O Brother Where Art Thou then this will do for you.

No Country For Old Men is a very clever and original take on the old cat-and-mouse chase genre which sucks the audience into believeing the many red herrings which the Cohen Brothers lay out, before suddenly disproving what you expected and believed. Very clever. Worth a watch.

On in all not a bad movie. Make me think about killers near me. Scary anyway. Talk about Crime Philosophy.

No Country for Old Men is the Coen Brothers latest film.

It starts promising to be their usual understated well-acted and brilliantly filmed movie. I was totally enthralled by the character brought to life by Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, but especially the fantastic Javier Bardem who plays the psychotic Chigurh. Josh Brolin plays the luckless hunter who thinks he has landed the jackpot only to attract the attention of the completely insane assassin Chigurh. The film turns into a cat and mouse feature bereft of all the usual clichs normal directors/writers might have been tempted to use.

A special mention must go out to Kelly McDonald who is captivating as Carla Jean Moss, the wife of Josh's Character. She has an on screen presence in the film which is only testament to her own acting skills. A completely fantastic Southern drawl for a girl from Glasgow.

This film has its flaws though. The last 20 minutes of the film tend to look rushed as if you are watching a different film altogether. It is as if the Coens had ran out of money but needed to tie up the loose ends quickly.

As you would expect the cinematography is amazing with all the right settings beautifully capturing the mood of the specific scene and the lack of any background music to the screenplay also adds to the haunting feel of this movie. I enjoyed the experience although I did feel something was taken away from me at the end. I don't know if the writer of the original novel intended for the story to end this way and the Coens had stayed true to that.

To summarise, this is a wonderful film even with the flaws and well worth the admission price. I would have given it 10/10 if the pace and drive of the movie were allowed to continue.