This pitiless, impeccably crafted film is indeed the hoped-for return to form for the Coen Brothers. Every performance is spot-on, from the terrifying Javier Bardem on down through to the usually annoying Woody Harrelson. The suspense is nearly unbearable for considerable stretches of the film, and the plot is beautifully sketched without being labored. The Coens (and Cormac McCarthy's novel before them) trust the viewers to keep up. As always, Roger Deakins' photography is brilliant and beautiful. All in all, this is a masterpiece.
And I rarely say such a thing, but I think in this case I wish I hadn't already read the book. As harrowingly good a read as it was, I wish I could have experienced the suspense of the film without the outlines of the plot so well know to me.
Much has been made about the violence in the film, and there is violence, to be sure. But two points should be made about the violence. First, yes, some violence is shown on screen, and it isn't easy to watch, but many of the violent moments (upon reflection) are implied rather than made explicit. (Of course, this discretion only heightens the horror.) Second, each act of violence is full of horror and disgust. This is violence that is portrayed with full awareness of what is lost when a person dies, no matter how high or low, rich or poor that person is. This is, of course, an indictment of most Hollywood films, especially action films which generally are much, much more violent that No Country For Old Men, but clothe that violence in post-killing jokes or by disguising those marked for death as shallow cardboard cutouts or videogame shooting gallery targets.
I'll save further thoughts until I've seen it again. Which will apparently be sometime in the next few hours.
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Update: Okay, so it really is rather violent and bloody. The fact that some of the acts of violence are handled with discretion doesn't remove the fact that some are very explicit. So, be warned. (I stand by my comments about the gravity with which the violence is handled.)
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Too difficult to discuss without some spoilage, so avert eyes if you haven't seen the movie yet.
Im gonna pipe up for those who a) aren't die-hard Coen brothers fans and/or b) haven't read McCarthy's novel. I've talked to a few of those people about this movie and we all expressed similar thoughts on The Last 20 Minutes (TM):
1) Llewelyn Moss is set up as our (at least initial) protagonist. He has a goal we root for, even if it is driven by a less-than-perfect moral code. In life's many shades of gray, we feel he is on the lighter end of the spectrum. And his demise is joltingly off-camera, spoken of in the past tense only moments after we've seen him alive and preparing himself for battle. It was disorienting to say the least, not in the same vein of storytelling as the earlier parts of the movie.
2) Our second protagonist, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, is supposed to be on the trail of Moss and his stalking shadow, Anton Chigurh. He shows us his keen detective skills early, then proceeds to follow further proceedings from his favorite diner seat. It's obvious that he's old and feels outmatched physically with today's criminal element. I don't mind that being his defining characteristic, and his one climactic pseudo-encounter with Chigurh could have really been something (albeit still confusing and conversation-worthy) had I still not been reeling from Moss's erasure from existence.
3) So Chigurh wins. Nothing wrong with that. I like those types of movies too. The whole but-even-Evil-is-not-immune-to-our-pen-of- randomness car crash scene was a bit odd though, as for one second I thought, "Hey, Moss ISN'T dead, and now he's getting his sweet revenge, albeit too late!" But no, it really was just a chance accident
So in summary, I think the average viewer coming in without any preconceptions was taken for a bit of a loop, and not necessarily a well-chosen one. Up until The Last 20 Minutes, they were given a dramatic, beautiful film, full of exquisite dialogue, laid out in perfect tempo... An then the harsh deletion of Moss sort of ruined it. I don't care if you kill him, humble him, humiliate him, but give the viewer some closure. It would have solved everything else by not exposing such a raw nerve. Chigurh could stalk off into the night and Bell could fade away quietly.
Everyone I've talked to (besides Dave) has expressed these same sentiments, so I have to believe it's a weakness of the storytelling for the sake of surprise/art/previously- unspoken-theme-that-you're-only-supposed-to- get-after-the-credits-roll. I truly enjoyed the movie, but I can't really endorse it the way I wanted to before The Last 20 Minutes.
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