The Coen brothers haven't been on top form lately, with the misfiring light comedies 'Intolerable Cruelty' and 'The Ladykillers', but their latest thriller, 'No Country For Old Men', sees them make a comeback with one of the finest films of the year. The Coens have the great fortune of being talented 'art' directors whilst never taking themselves too seriously. This film is no exception, with moments of dark brutality alongside subtle humour of their distinctive style.
Adapted from a Cormac McCarthy novel the film retains several hallmarks of the Coen brothers' films, whilst also suggesting a new direction for them. Ordinarily we would expect to see regular players such as John Turturro or John Goodman, but here we have Tommy Lee Jones; on a recent run of success after his Best Actor award at Cannes for 'The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada' and new film 'In the Valley of Elah'; alongside Spanish star Javier Bardem; most familiar to English-speaking audiences for his recent 'The Sea Inside'; and Josh Brolin, who is also on a good run with 'Planet Terror', 'American Gangster' and, again, 'In the Valley of Elah'. With these three actors currently at the top of their games, one of the finest cinematographers around in Roger Deakins (a regular Coen collaborator), and great reviews, I had very high expectations for this film.
I wasn't disappointed. The Coens have made a career from breathing new life into genre films, whether the gangster movie or film noir. 'No Country For Old Men' is a crime thriller perhaps closest to their breakthrough hit, 'Fargo', in itself an excellent film. Like 'Fargo', we have a smalltime sheriff who in their own distinctively laidback way manages their job with effortless skill. This is contrasted with the brutality of the killer(s) at the core of each film. In the latest, Javier Bardem is a terrifyingly creepy murderer with no conscience, pursuing the tough Josh Brolin, who has stumbled across a drug deal gone wrong and walked away with $2 million.
There follows a fairly straightforward pursuit, as Bardem doggedly tracks down Brolin, who refuses to give in and consistently fights back. Meanwhile, Jones' sheriff can do little more than observe, discovering the entire plot but feeling powerless to stop it, without enough information to protect Brolin, who he can't find. The film transcends its genre with idiosyncratic performances from the three leading men, ensuring that their characters never become cliches, or even predictable. Brolin's Llewelyn Moss is perhaps the most straightforward, but also the most surprising as he competently resists several attacks. Jones' Sheriff Bell is the most surprising, as the representative of the law who almost refuses to play his part. The greatest revelation, however, is Bardem's Anton Chigurh: incredibly menacing but distinctively human. Where we would normally expect a faceless killer in the darkness, this film is even more disconcerting in its representation of a man with no remorse, who plays with people's lives and focuses solely on his goal, allowing nothing (not even significant personal injury) to deter him. It's not a million miles from your traditional villain, but we see much more of Chigurh, watching him dress his wounds, and tease other characters away from the central plot. He is also extremely scary sometimes, much more than a more fantastical villain could be. He is incredibly engrossing and should expect more awards to follow his Golden Globes victory.
The film's lack of singlemindedness regarding it's central narrative is also highly distinctive. Normally, a genre film such as this would be extremely caught up with its plot, but it almost seems secondary to the characters and how they deal with various crises in an extreme situation. Most noticeably, we do not have a single viewpoint, but spread ourselves evenly between the three main characters. Even towards the end, the central plot is suddenly over, yet the film keeps moving along, and we now follow Sheriff Bell as he enters retirement and settles for a world and a pace of life more suited to his age - hence the title.
The supporting performances are also of note, with Woody Harrelson, Kelly MacDonald and Garret Dillahunt all turning in solid characterisations. Again this demonstrates the openess of the story and its distractions from the main thrust. The Coen's never show too much of themselves, in order not to distract from the characters, but somehow we know it's their film. Brief moments of humour, the sardonic attitude of Sheriff Bell, the unexplained eerieness of Chigurh, and the loving references to the classic Hollywood of films noir, detective stories and criminals, are all recognisable from their previous work. This film, though, is perhaps one of their most absorbing, complex and yet accessible.
Within Hollywood, the Coens are certainly among the most respected filmmakers and 'No Country For Old Men' should certainly cement this reputation. Personally I'd also recommend 'Barton Fink', 'Fargo' and 'The Big Lebowski'. In terms of other recent and similarly genre-busting, exciting and brilliant films (which this certainly is, taking our expectations in a new direction and giving great optimism for the future of American cinema) I'd also recommend 'The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford', which was excellent but deserves mention on this blog. The general atmosphere of the film was incredible, the story original and Casey Affleck's performance was stunning (perhaps the only other actor who could contend Javier Bardem for the Supporting Actor Oscar). The two films also share a cinematographer and actor in Garret Dillahunt. I urge you to see them both.
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