Movie: No Country for Old Men

[masamuneehs]

So I just went and saw this movie. I'd been looking forward to it, since I heard alot and it got some good reviews and all that.

Let me just say, I like slow movies. I like movies driven by realism and with characters that you can relate to. I like movies that have a message, but don't beat you over the head with it.

The movie was excellently made. I'm sure people will scream about it being slow or something like that, but, then again, it's likely these are the same people who think Transformers is the epitome of action cinema... It is a slow movie, but it's because it takes care of the details (those that it chooses to show...more on that in a bit...). It's shot wonderfully.

It's got some excellent acting in it (although I thought Tommy Lee Jones did rush a bit in some of his scenes towards the end... expected better from him). You feel like these characters are people you'd expect to see out there in the real world. The only one who is too surreal is the main character, but even he has some moments of normalcy that really bring the character into perspective.

It ends abruptly, and let's just say without some closure... Most my friends were complaining, about the ending and the lack of action in some segments. Most of these guys aren't excatly movie buffs. Hell, it surprised me that they wanted to see something like this instead of I AM LEGEND.

But I turn to one of my friends who is a quiet guy and say, "You know, this movie might not satisfy people. Hell, you know, it's not even going to entertain half the under 25 population that watches it. But, one thing that you can't take away from it is that it feels real. I mean, if anything like that setup took place in real life, it'd probably play out just like the movie does. You don't see that in movies. You're waiting for a big showdown, or some wizz-bang twist, or some other absolutely unbelievable movie staple. But life isn't like that."

and one of my friends who overhears shouts, "Yeah, but you don't pay fucking ten dollars to watch real life!"

It loses serious points for cutting out some scenes towards the end that you really, really, really feel like they should have included. A movie that is so thorough and gives seemingly random things screentime shouldn't just neglect pivotal moments like that...

When was the last time I watched a film that had no soundtrack?

The ending... leaves you feeling a bit unsatisfied. It's a plot driven story, but I'm pretty sure the main purpose of this film is to make an impression on viewers, even if it doesn't entertain them. I did think it should have ended better. Not differently... but, well, I dunno...

anyone else see this one?

Masa gives it a 7. It's a gritty and grinding movie that doesn't flinch. Excellent use of cinematography and sound effects. The acting is superb. Characters are a bit stereotypical, but have enough edge to them to make you care about them. The pacing is too slow at times, and some scenes that serve a 'message' purpose aren't incorporated into the story well enough. It loses a full point for omitting a critical scene and then being slightly confusing in another very important one.

[Genma]

I may be biased because I saw this opening night while being "under the influence," and I think my friend put it best when he shouted in the theater: "This is not the type of movie to get high and watch!"

That aside, I thought it had some good parts and some really, really, really bad parts. I'm going to throw a SPOILER ALERT directed towards the rest of my post, because in order to really critique it I have to bring up all the twists and turns. So BE FOREWARNED!

The first like, thirty minutes of the movie was awesome. Everything from the antagonist's clever escape from a jailhouse to his awesome air-pressure gun. In retrospect, I think that the only redeeming part of this movie besides the unique presentation is the antagonist; everyone else seemed cookie-cutter and the way they picked off the guy who found the money was just ridiculous. Worst transitions since the second generation Star Wars movies.

But yeah, as it was already mentioned, the movie was slow paced. Incredibly slow paced. I nodded off a couple of times out of sheer boredom, but I guess it made the action sequences all the more enjoyable. And every time the antagonist broke open locks with his gun, I jumped like a foot in the air because I didn't expect it to be so loud.

I would've given this movie a 7 or 7.5 had they done two major things: actually showing the protagonist die instead of suddenly transitioning to Tommy Lee Jones finding the aftermath of the fight, and of course the controversial ending that is essentially just an obscure "this was me daydreaming," which I regard as one of the worst -- if not the worst -- ending I've seen in my life. Was it supposed to be clever to abruptly end like that? I don't know, but the one thing I liked about it was that I was growing bored of the movie and the abrupt ending caught me by surprise, so I practically leapt up and exited the theater amidst groans from fellow movie-goers who wanted their $10 back. Luckily I had a free movie ticket, otherwise I would've been pissed too.

6~6.5/10... a real flop that could've been so much better imo.

[Y]

It was a masterpiece. I'm not going into film-critic mode to analyze the movie's little philosophical subplots or the reason certain things weren't shown, but this movie was absolutely masterfully constructed. I'll just echo someone from the SA thread who says this movie has one of the most powerful recurring images in film - someone taking money from bloodied hands.

[Genma]

I'm not going into film-critic mode to analyze the movie's little philosophical subplots or the reason certain things weren't shown,.

*pumps fist* WHY NOT?

Please, enlighten me as to why they made the movie the way they did. That way I might have more respect for it... because when it comes to subtle things in movies (especially ones you see on a mind altering substance), I'm about as dull as they come.

[Y]

Well, the reason we weren't shown things like certain character's deaths is because it contributes to the movie's themes.

Stop reading this if you haven't seen the movie.

Moss's death happening was a foregone conclusion as soon as he gave in to his "moral" side and went back to give the Mexican drug-runner some water, but having it happen not at the hands of the seemingly invincible assassin on his trail but offscreen to some Mexican gangbangers puts the lie to the assassin's story of how he is the avenging angel of fate. The movie starts off with some of the most explicit violence possible (Anton blowing a hole in someone's head or shredding a man's throat open with his silenced Tec-9) and then gradually dials down the violence to offscreen with the aftermath only shown (in the case of Moss's death) or offscreen entirely (when Anton goes to kill Moss's wife). It's not an action film where Moss and Anton are supposed to have this climactic gun battle, and really, Moss isn't even the protagonist: Tommy Lee Jones's character is, and the movie's sense of helplessness is amplified by having him not only fail to prevent Moss's death, but fail to even get there to witness it. By the time he arrives on any given scene, the action has long passed him by. The ending isn't going to have some huge action set piece, Jones's character didn't even carry a gun. He's just left behind to ruminate on fate and destiny and I like that a lot more then having the movie end with some ridiculous duel to the death between a redneck who stole a drug dealer's suitcase and Anton the master assassin.

[rockmanj]

Of course I agree with Y. The movie's ruminations, comedy, and action were all extremely well executed. It was also very realistic without being boring. Like Y says, there was a powerful message in the fact that there wasn't a huge showdown at the end, and that Moss' s death wasn't even shown; its a little bleak, but I think what the film's message is that messed up things happen to people, even if they deserve it or not.

[Munsu]

Just watched the movie... I really liked it, and I pretty much echo what Y said on his previous posts on this thread.

I liked the ending, my only complaint is that Bell doesn't get enough screen time throughout the movie in order for the final scene to have the impact and be as meaningful as it should be... apparently the adaptation from the book to the film made it very difficult to include various scenes that deal with introspection... so that's why the ending might be lost on many. But when you draw a parallel with with the introductory monologue from Bell with the dreams he explains in the ending and you compare that with the experiences that he went through throughout the movie, you'll understand the importance of the events of the movie and how they relate to Bell.

[XanBcoo]

I only just saw this last night, and oh man was it good.

When Tommy Lee Jones discovered Moss' body in the hotel room I had figured out what Y mentioned about this movie, which was that the movie was actually about him, the old Sherrif. The ending credits listing Tommy Lee Jones first, as well as some thought on the title of the movie only confirmed this.

I particularly liked the scene when he told the old crippled guy that he was retiring, and the older guy gave him this speech which boiled down to "Don't feel so self-important, the world has always been this way. It's not changing, you're just getting older." Really good message in that.

Also everything else about the movie played out really well. Man, I love the Coen brothers.