No Country for Old Men
I finally saw this movie. It was well-received by critics, won several awards, and I had several friends recommend it. One guy actually went to see it on five different occasions, because he thought it was that good. And it was a very good movie – it kept me glued to the screen all the way through. It had a certain kind of tension where you have to keep watching – you are impatient, and with certain characters nervous about what is going to happen next. I like that in a movie; it speaks well of the director, the actors and the effort they put into it. You are mesmerized by the whole production.
I think a big part of what caused that tension and the captivation by the movie was the distinct lack of music throughout the show. It helped create the dry, southwest atmosphere in which the movie takes place, and made you focus more on the characters, dialog and the plot. I didn’t even notice that there was no music until after the credits started rolling, when the music started playing. Then I realized, “Hey, there was no background music in this movie!” I think that made it more realistic because quite honestly, unless I’m walking around with my Walkman, I don’t hear Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78 “Organ” playing in the background. While that would be nice, it just isn’t so.
“No Country” wasn’t perfect: there were three points of confusion, I felt. For instance, After Moss was killed in the hotel, I was questioning how the Mexicans found him, especially since Chigurh kept killing them and apparently wasn’t communicating with them. Moss got rid of the transponder or whatever the signaling device was, so how did they track him? Then there was Chigurh walking our of the motel after talking with Moss’ wife, carefully checking his boots. Did he kill her or no? He gave her the choice that was given to the gas station owner in the beginning of the movie: the coin toss for life, but the movie did not explicitly tell you that yes, he did kill her. And finally in the last scene, there was the now retired Sheriff Bell talking with his wife. When did he retire, and how did that whole bit come about? He had mentioned the idea of it a few times in the movie, but in the last scene, all of a sudden WHAM! he’s retired. Maybe I missed something, but that really threw me for a loop. Ultimately, those were the only really questionable parts in an otherwise well-done movie.
Certainly, it was a violent film, with lots of blood and death, but it wasn’t gratuitous violence. Some of it was implied, as in the first scene when the money, drugs, and dead Mexicans are found by Moss. But the killings that you did see weren’t like something out of a Saw, Halloween, or Freddie Krueger movie. If anything, it was necessary to the movie, in order to appreciate the full effect of what was going on.
Moss’ mother-in-law provided some comic relief at some key points, as well. She was just annoying enough for me to hope I never have a mother-in-law like that, and not around often enough in the movie to be really annoying. Still, when she was involved in a scene it was generally lighter than the rest of the movie, gave relief from the tension and dryness of the rest of the film.
Will I see it again? Probably, at some point within the next few months. I’d say it’s in my Top 100 Movies of All Time. It’ll be a movie shown someday on TBS that will in all likelihood be better than anything else on – even if it’s cut up and bleeped to bloody hell. If you haven’t seen it, go see it or rent it. It’ll be an evening well spent.
