Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Updates:

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Time Out rating

Average user rating

116 reviews

Synopsis

Joel and Ethan Coen are back with a bloody adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s terse literary thriller about a Texan Vietnam vet who stumbles into the aftermath of a gangland drug operation. Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem star.

Movie review

From Time Out London

West Texas, 1980. Out hunting deer in the desert down by the Mexican border, Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) happens on a heap of carnage: torn-apart trucks, corpses of men and dogs, the bloody bodies of others who’d be better off dead, and a case packed with cash: about $2 million. With no witnesses, and confident he can handle himself, Moss opts to keep what’s clearly payment in a drugs-handover gone wrong, and treat himself and wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald) to a life considerably better than their trailer-park existence. Trouble is, psychopathic hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) also wants the loot, and begins carefully hunting the hunter, in turn pursued by veteran sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who can’t help feeling the world’s turning more crazily violent.

The Coens’ first outright adaptation is of a Cormac McCarthy novel so attuned to them that the film feels – at least until the final few scenes – as if it’s based on one of their own original screenplays: ‘Blood Simple’ meets ‘Fargo’, almost. For all its fidelity to its source, however, it’d be wrong to think it merely an illustration. The Coens meticulously select the most filmic moments of McCarthy’s terse, gripping book; they trim the sheriff’s nostalgic reveries and philosophising, embellish and enhance the action, and succeed overall in transforming the novel’s economic descriptions into a full-blown world populated by vivid, plausible characters.

Most impressive, they find a cinematic equivalent to McCarthy’s language: his narrative ellipses, play with point of view, and structural concerns such as the exploration of the similarities and differences between Moss, Chigurh and Bell. Certain virtuoso sequences feel near-abstract in their focus on objects, sounds, light, colour or camera angle rather than on human presence. As in ‘Barton Fink’ or ‘Fargo’, the Coens prove that properly innovative artistry and engrossing entertainment can co-exist to utterly compelling effect.Notwithstanding much marvellous deadpan humour, this is one of their darkest efforts: Chigurh, especially, is a nightmarish creation, polite manners and pageboy bob perversely accentuating the volatility in his strangely logical head. Roger Deakins’ superb camerawork, top-grade performances all round, and understated, assured direction ensure the film exerts a grip from start to end. A masterly tale of the good, the deranged and the doomed that inflects the raw violence of the west with a wry acknowledgement of the demise of codes of honour, this is frighteningly intelligent and imaginative.

Author: Geoff Andrew 2008-01-15 15:28:22

Time Out London Issue 1952 - January 14th 2008

Bookmark

User reviews of this film

Nick said...

Posted on Feb 05 2008 20:20 This is a brilliant film on many levels. I was initially skeptical about Tommy Lee Jones being top billed, but he was excellent as the sheriff at the end of his reign - the Old Man in changing times. Many people have criticised the ending. These people have been fed too much Hollywood happy ending garbage. Resolution is totally overrated - leave it up to your own imagination! This film leaves a deep impact and sparks thought and conversation. It is one of the best films I have seen for a long time and its beauty is in its simplicity, the depth of the characters and the cinematography.

Report as inappropriate
Neil said...

Posted on Feb 05 2008 16:12 There are some superb aspects to this film. The cast are superb, the dialogue is crisp and authentic and the cinematography is excellent. However, the story is second rate - great beginnining, excellent middle, but what a stinker of an ending. The third act is truly dreadful - such a shame after such outstanding work before hand. Regrettably there is no arc to this story - Miller's crossing it aint!

Report as inappropriate
Graeme Page said...

Posted on Feb 05 2008 10:01 superb, not in the last 10years have i felt such tension in a cinema, the lack of a soundtrack or fancy cutscenes goes to show this film did not need fluffed up at all. great depth dealing with issues of god, history, loved the two kids at the end highlighting the problems money causes.

Report as inappropriate
Helen said...

Posted on Feb 05 2008 08:39 This is an exceptionally well made film, the Coen brothers have done it again, edgier than Fargo but with a subtlety and well balanced plot which recoils from the tedium of good versus bad and wins the day. It is a tough, reality tale encompassing greed, honour and disillusionment with contemporary society. Chigur's atypical villainy and psychopathic morality is wonderfully acted and will haunt you long after the film has ended. If you love a happy ending you may not enjoy this film but cannot deny that it is brilliantly made, gripping, and exceptionally well acted from start to finish.

Report as inappropriate
Jesse White said...

Posted on Feb 04 2008 20:31 I hate to put other people down for their movie reviews (really, I do), but if you didn't like this film, all I can say is...you didn't get it. The acting, directing and cinematography are all awesome. This film was obviously too highbrow for some (although I can understand not liking it for violence reasons). The way it was shot, with very few camera changes (e.g. the car crash scene), made such an impact to the film. It made me feel depressed and melancholic for the rest of the day. Just a couple of hundereds of thoughts ive had on this film..it really stays with you.
The biggest compliment I can give - Im off to see it again.

Report as inappropriate
andrew said...

Posted on Feb 04 2008 17:47 really enjoyed this movie and was well acted by all the central characters ,movie stays with you long after it's finished.don't some people get it that things don't always turn out for the good.

Report as inappropriate
Sutton said...

Posted on Feb 04 2008 13:31 A great film with superb performances from all the leads, particularly Brolin and Bardem. A little unsatisfactory in the last 20 minutes, but nevertheless well worth seeing. Violent but nothing you won't have seen from the Coen Brothers or say Tarantino. Kelly MacDonald is worth a mention, with a good US accent!!

Report as inappropriate
Piers Catton said...

Posted on Feb 03 2008 19:36 What a load of old rubbish ~ like a typical American B movie ~ why on earth this is nominated for any oscars or awards beats me. No story, no special effects, no good acting, no direction, scenes with no meaning or story line and when the end came everybody in the cinema was amaised that there was no conclusion or definative ending. It's clear that US films have had their day long live the Brits we can choose either great comedy or fantastic stories well filmed. My advice save your money and watch something else !

Report as inappropriate
Jane Arredondo said...

Posted on Feb 02 2008 21:54 Depressing and bloody. The central psycopath figure is glamorised, the excessive vioence is gratuitous. I loathed this film, nearly walked out. It seemed pointless.

Report as inappropriate
lisa said... said...

Posted on Feb 02 2008 20:53 utter nonsense..??really feel pitty on d people who gave full price for it...really was disappointed and still wondering what the director was trying to show and its still shocked that how come this film got 5 stars....

Report as inappropriate
Arun said...

Posted on Feb 02 2008 14:32 i got to the end and couldn't make sense of the film, until later on in the evening - i remembered the name of the film...need i say more?

Report as inappropriate
Technoguy said...

Posted on Feb 01 2008 20:16 I'm afraid all the hype killed it off for me.This ain't in the same league as Blood Simple or Fargo.I've read the book which I liked.However the whole film seemed to lack an aura that would make it special.It shifted it's focus between the 3 main protagonists,the good,the bad and the in-between.The last 30 minutes seemed to be unresolved and the ending an anticlimax.the Vietnam war hovered over this film and the dark shadow it cast on moral values.The film didn't seem relevant to today's conflict(in Iraq),it seemed out of date and out of time.I really felt 'is that it?'This is the first time the Coens have adapted a novel.the acting in itself was good,but something real was lacking.

Report as inappropriate
Sarah said...

Posted on Feb 01 2008 15:30 I saw this film last night, and although I can't claim to love it, that's more because I found the subject matter gloomy than because it's a terrible film, as some reviewers have said. The acting from all was brilliant, the villian made me tremble in my boots, and the lack of soundtrack only served to heighten the tension. My disappointment was that there was no glimmer of hope or explanation offered, which makes it a rather bleak vision of humanity. Ok, so Hollywood movies are usually ludicrous, but at the same time, films don't have to be miserable to be thought-provoking. Worth seeing and judging for yourself.

Report as inappropriate
Sarah said...

Posted on Feb 01 2008 15:21 I saw this film last night and although I can't claim to love it, I would say it's more because I find the subject matter gloomy than because it's a terrible film. the acting from all was brilliant, the villian made me tremble in my boots and the lack of soundtrack only served to heighten the tension. My only disappointment was that there was no glimmer of hope or explanation offered so it's a pretty bleak vision of humanity. OK, so Hollywood movies are usually ludicrous but you don't have to be miserable in order to be thought-provoking.

Report as inappropriate
Movie Lover said...

Posted on Feb 01 2008 12:24 I really wonder what was the director trying to do...
A hopeless movie with a nonsence end..

Report as inappropriate