Best Picture 2008? - No Country For Old Men (Part 4 of 5)
Sean opines...
Joel and Ethan Coen are one of the best director/writer teams ever. Their films have become ones that everyone remembers even though not always universally celebrated. Raising Arizona caught my attention first. "Son, you got a panty on your head." and "Now you take that diaper off your head and you put it back on your sister!" are quotes I regularly have walk through my mind on occasion because of that fun trip the bizarre mind of these two brothers created. Fargo was the next. Frances McDormand (Joel's wife) captured the attention of America in the bloody yet quirky film. Her "Thanks a bunch" is a staple in my day to day life. And I just caught O' Brother Where Art Thou? the other night, which was a pleasant surprise. Always the right amount of dark humor and brilliant cinematography from mainly Roger Deakins. So why did I not like No Country For Old Men as much?
No Country For Old Men is a simple story about a man (Josh Brolin, in a great performance) who finds money in the desert and the clean up man who wants it back on principle. A modern western that pulls no punches when its time to kill and attempts to work off the addage that times have changed and with it the way and vigiliance of crime. In a mixture of spaghetti and Sam Peckinpah westerns and Igmar Bergman reflection, No Country For Old Men pays homage to the Coen brothers inspiration. They personify evil in Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Bardem quietly and methodically walks and murders through this film with perfection. A villain for the ages, down from heaven almost to wreak God's vegeance or Hell reclaiming its lost souls. The first coin flip scene is a classic. No conscience only signs from God as to who deseves mercy and who deserves death are his leading indicators. A performance worthy of honor. But does the movie deliver the entire goods? No.
The weakness of the film is the ruminations of the Tommy Lee Jones character, the sheriff of the county that all the violence began. He stands back and observes the action from afar, relating his sage maturity and in the end abandoning the fight because it is too intense for his old sensibilities. Granted the expectation at a much more interesting ending led to the disappointment; but, the ending given just is unitelligible. The film plugs along though only to be killed in the last 4 minutes that caused the audience I saw it with to audibly say "WHAT???" It might deserve a second viewing but the mystery is gone and from what I can gather I am not alone in my anger with the chosen finish. In addition, the editing of the film allows for drama to unfold but in some areas it seems to linger to long and bore the viewer. Am I being to critical? Sure! Did I have expectations? Of course! But what I received was a film that is 4/5ths great with the last 1/5th spoiling the whole barrel.
Ultimately, this is a flawed film that just can't get me to like it.
