"No Country for Old Men" - Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Kelly Macdonald with Woody Harrelson, Stephen Root, and Barry Corbin written (screenplay) and directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen.
I wasn't planning on seeing this movie, however, the academy and critics did their job and swayed me to hand over my money and go catch this film. While I'm not too nuts about the plot, per IMDB, "Plot Outline: Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande." However I can admit to seeing how some call this movie "film making at its best." The simple plot and simple dialogue did not capture my attention and quite honestly left me a little bored, yet, the cinematography, lack of dialogue, use of music, as well as the use of silence silence coupled with the hauntingly original and unsympathetic performances did not go unnoticed and was admittedly some of the best ever. I've never been the biggest fan of the Cohen brother's sense of dark comedy and ire and, I still am not the biggest devotee of their existentialist view of humanity, however, they are good at what they do. They directed Jones' downtrodden existence and Brolin's confidence with up most precision and straightness. Throw in Bardem's haunting and ghastly performance and their skill and talent shines right through. Bardem's character still remains with me 3 days after screening the film. I have little doubt that the academy will honor him with the hardware he deserves. So as far as the film itself goes I would rate it low on the entertainment scale and low on the "change your life" with dialogue and story scale, however when it comes to the film making process and the use of all thematic aspects as well as motion picture making skill it would rank as high as any other film I've seen. Very few films I have ever seen have left me with such contradicting feelings as this one; bored yet excited, disturbed yet at ease, horrified yet confident, safe yet insecure, and plenty of other dichotomies that are left to be explored. I guess it's safe to say that I respect the piece as art but was sorely disappointed in it as entertainment. 4/5 Remotes
1 comment:
Man, I was really sucked in by this movie. My only quibble is the end–I didn't find Tommy Lee Jones's character nearly as interesting as the others so I wasn't glad to see things finish off with him. Anyway, I'm glad you stuck through it and recognized the greatness.
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