No Country For Old Men

I watch a ton of movies and have grown fond of the Coen Brothers work. Raising Arizona is one of my favorite movies. You could imagine my delight when I heard they were writing/directing No Country For Old Men. I’ve never read the books. Books are only good for burning (really I love to read), but everyone said the book was amazing. I knew I was going to see it no matter what the reviews said. I was reading one of my favorite sports writers Bill Simmons of ESPN’s weekly football column and his said “if somebody has a good explanation for the last 25 minutes of that movie, I'd love to hear it. Everyone at my theater applauded when it was over, like something special had just happened. Meanwhile, I was sitting there going, "Wait, it's over? What the hell just happened?" That’s exactly how I felt.

The movie starts as hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the aftermath of a deadly shootout and 2 million dollars in cash. Like most people he takes the money and makes plans to leave town. Moss knows that whoever lost this money will be looking for it very shortly, but what he doesn’t know is that he’s being tracked by killer/psychopath named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones lays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell who is trying to track the killer and find Moss to help keep him safe. The movie picks up quickly and is a very tense atmosphere for the first 100 of the 122 minutes this movie runs.

This is one of those films that is very character driven. You feel for Moss’ character. He’s like most of us. What would you do if you found $2,000,000? Most people would keep it and leave town just as fast as they found the money. Moss is a regular guy that has an idea that’s he’s gotten into some trouble but really has no idea the type of people he’s mixed up with. The movie sparked an interesting conversation with me and my roommate. He says he’d keep it and head out of town. I said I’d plead ignorance or turn the money in. I feel he’d always be looking over his shoulder wondering if whoever lost the money was coming to collect. He says I’d always be wondering, “What if I just kept the money?” I think we are both right.

What really helps propel this movie is the villain Chigurh. From the first time you see him on screen, he creeps you out and every time they show him you know something bad is going to happen. It wasn’t just his haircut and odd facial expressions. Or even his strange way he engaged in conversations that made you feel like it made sense to him and nobody else. Maybe it was the fact that he killed people with an air pressure can and filled his victims head with air. It could have been the sick sense of honor that he displays. A little bizarre but definitely made you fear the guy if you didn’t already. He is easily one of my favorite movie villains. He was everything you want out of a villain. Chigurh was smart, sick, fearless, and didn’t seem to care who got in his way.

The movie hits its climax and I’m sitting in my seat thinking “Oh this is going to be goooooooooooooood” that’s about the same time the movie took an unexpected/unnecessary turn for the worst. I was looking around the theater thinking maybe I leaped like the guy from Journeyman into another movie. There has to be a worst feeling than that in life, but it has to rank pretty high. Somewhere between having a blind date with a real blind person and realizing you sent a Valentine’s Day card for Keesha in an envelope addressed to Jamie (that pain never goes away). I’d like compare it to having a date with Beyonce and then she invites you back to her place. You think it’s “go-time” and you get to her house and Jay-Z is there relaxing on the couch. It just didn’t end like you hoped it would. Kind of hard to tell your friends you had a great time without mentioning the disappointment at the end. That’s how I feel about No Country. Could have ended great if the Coen Brothers didn’t have Jay-Z on the couch for the last 25 minutes.

My suggestion: Go see it if you want to. The first 100 minutes are very good and it really gets you hooked into the story. I wouldn’t be mad if you saw it but when you see a hotel pool for the first time this is your sign to quickly get up and leave. When Beyonce invites me back to her place I’ll say, “No I think I’ll just call it a night” and always wonder what might have been. Maybe that’s the same logic that would have me give the money back.

My grade: 3.0 – You did great on your homework, but failed the final miserably. Better luck next time.