Last night my GF and I went to see the new Coen brothers film, No Country For Old Men, currently in limited release (we saw it at the grungy Uptown theater in Minneapolis).
Wow. I don't recall EVER seeing a more perfectly made film. The writing (which I am told is very true to the Cormac McCarthy novel), the casting, the acting, the direction, the cinematography - all just amazing.
The movie is relentlessly dark, and very violent. I had envisioned a return to the Coens' sensibility in making Blood Simple (also a very violent film taking place in west Texas), but if anything this is far bloodier and makes fewer accommodations to the audience's comfort.
The bad guy, Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem, sporting a haircut that makes him look like he failed his audition to be the fifth Ramone), is one of the great villians in the history of modern film. He conveys a sense of menace and dangerousness that in many ways surpasses even a Hannibal Lecter, in that he seems completely emotionless (other that slight bemusement) about killing anyone and everyone who so much as inconveniences him.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant as lawman Ed Tom Bell. Jones is just perfect in this role - the character is a morally-upstanding Texas sheriff, and he looks every bit the sun-burnt Texan badass. Believe it or not, Josh Brolin is also excellent, and the rest of the cast is amazing - every little bit part is perfectly cast, and even the actors who have one or two lines deliver them brilliantly.
So far every review of this movie, more or less, has been extremely positive. My view is that critics tend to appreciate the excellence of the filmmaking and are tolerant of the extremely dark nature of the film, and I imagine many people who see the movie won't be happy with it (as my GF was not), simply because it is so bleak. For me, this is a 5-star film, and one of the best films in the past several years, but I will be interested to hear what others have to say about it.
Wow. I don't recall EVER seeing a more perfectly made film. The writing (which I am told is very true to the Cormac McCarthy novel), the casting, the acting, the direction, the cinematography - all just amazing.
The movie is relentlessly dark, and very violent. I had envisioned a return to the Coens' sensibility in making Blood Simple (also a very violent film taking place in west Texas), but if anything this is far bloodier and makes fewer accommodations to the audience's comfort.
The bad guy, Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem, sporting a haircut that makes him look like he failed his audition to be the fifth Ramone), is one of the great villians in the history of modern film. He conveys a sense of menace and dangerousness that in many ways surpasses even a Hannibal Lecter, in that he seems completely emotionless (other that slight bemusement) about killing anyone and everyone who so much as inconveniences him.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tommy Lee Jones is brilliant as lawman Ed Tom Bell. Jones is just perfect in this role - the character is a morally-upstanding Texas sheriff, and he looks every bit the sun-burnt Texan badass. Believe it or not, Josh Brolin is also excellent, and the rest of the cast is amazing - every little bit part is perfectly cast, and even the actors who have one or two lines deliver them brilliantly.
So far every review of this movie, more or less, has been extremely positive. My view is that critics tend to appreciate the excellence of the filmmaking and are tolerant of the extremely dark nature of the film, and I imagine many people who see the movie won't be happy with it (as my GF was not), simply because it is so bleak. For me, this is a 5-star film, and one of the best films in the past several years, but I will be interested to hear what others have to say about it.