No Country for Old Men
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE
No Country for Old Men is the Cohen Brothers (Fargo) latest release and critics’ darling for 2007. But this is one critic that doesn’t get it. Star Josh Brolin does a fine job as a man who gets himself into more trouble than its worth. But it is hard to get past Javier Bardem’s Dutch boy haircut. And the story leaves something to be desired with its lack of details, like it’s trying to keep a secret from the audience.
Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) comes across a drug deal gone bad while out shooting. He finds one survivor and he asks Llewelyn for water, which he doesn’t have. He finds $2 million dollars in cash. Llewelyn takes the cash home and decides to go back with water for the survivor. He is found by some guys looking for the money. He gets back to his wife and sends her up to her mother’s as he goes on the run while being tracked by cold blooded killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Everybody gets involved from local police Chief Ed Tom (Tommy Lee Jones) to the DEA.
The story puts you right in the thick of it from the beginning. You know that Llewelyn isn’t a bad man but he isn’t a great one either. It leaves you with a lot of conclusions to be drawn on your own. It tries to be real life and doesn’t tie up the story for you. Josh Brolin (American Gangster, In the Valley of Elah) is making a comeback. He has come a long way since The Goonies. He stands out as an average man who wouldn’t know the right thing to do if it smacked him in the face. Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) is scary as the psycho chasing Llewelyn. Too bad all you can see is that horrible Dorothy Hamill haircut. And Tommy Lee Jones must be only getting offered crazy old man roles now. Check him out in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. It is basically the same role just a different profession. Beth Grant (Little Miss Sunshine) as Llewelyn’s mother-in-law is a cartoon of a woman. She sticks out like a sore thumb she is so over the top. Texas is the land of no good men. This location is perfect for this story of outlaws. Miles of dust, tumbleweeds, and towns that haven’t aged well add to the dreariness of the film.
A little more detail in the plot would have made the film transition better from scene to scene. Questions answers could be how is Chigurh connected to the DEA? And who setup the drug bust?
No Country for Old Men is not as good as you would expect. Josh Brolin is the bright spot in a slightly above average film.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-B
Visuals-C
Originality/Innovation-C+
Enjoyability Grade–C
Overall Grade-C+
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