Overview
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
In some strange way the decision on how to grade “No Country For Old Men” mirrors the struggle that I have in appreciating art and the finer things in life. While I enjoyed much of the movie the initial taste of the ending left me with a bit of a sour stomache. And this is where I had to pick between the the road that most people seem to travel down and the road less traveled. Maybe that Frost guy knew something after all.
It is ironic that with this movie it seemed that my moviegoing experience not only didn’t end with the controversial ending, it actually flourished after the conclusion. I suppose that years ago as a younger man I would have written this movie off as one with a “stupid ending” and not given it a second thought. Like many of us, I would have tagged it with some cliche (maybe “I don’t want to have to think during my movies”) and moved on to the next hollywood piece of crap. I’m not sure when the “awakening” happened or even why it happened. I’m also not sure of what comes first – the realization that life exists on many levels or the want to discover these levels.
I guess it is a sign of a good movie that I am even able to draw these parallels to my own life. When “No Country” ended, I sat there for a minute trying to get over my initial shock and then I got to work trying to figure out what it all meant. I was enjoying the movie that I thought was taking place but it became evident that I had missed something, maybe even a lot. After a few hours of chewing on the movie and coming up with a few hypothesis I trekked out to the internet to see what others thought of it. Sure enough, this movie was critically acclaimed but not nearly as accepted by audiences. This is often the sign of a good movie as I am far more likely to trust the critics than I am the rest of the country. I believe that this is why I put so much faith in rottentomatoes.com. Some might consider this cheating but I don’t think so. I am trying to learn and to grow as both an appreciater of art and as a person. While there is something to blazing one’s own path I have always been a believer that sometimes we need a nudge to help us to see the beauty in something.
I am not going to get into the details of who did what and when in the movie – there are plenty of places to get that information. Quite honestly, the description of this movie doesn’t do it justice. Even if I did, you as the reader would have two ways to read this review – as a literal piece of work or as something that is a little deeper and meaningful than that. But then again, you have the same choice when you watch “No Country”, and that is the point.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews No Country for Old Men
Movie title: No Country for Old Men
Movie description: Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
Date published: 2008-03-22
Director(s): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Actor(s): Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, Rodger Boyce, Beth Grant, Ana Reeder, Kit Gwin, Zach Hopkins, Chip Love, Eduardo Antonio Garcia, Gene Jones, Myk Watford, Boots Southerland, Kathy Lamkin, Johnnie Hector, Margaret Bowman, Thomas Kopache, Jason Douglas, Doris Hargrave, Rutherford Cravens, Matthew Posey, George Adelo, Mathew Greer, Trent Moore, Marc Miles, Luce Rains, Philip Bentham, Eric Reeves, Josh Meyer, Chris Warner, Brandon Smith, Roland Uribe, Richard Jackson, Josh Blaylock, Caleb Landry Jones, Dorsey Ray, Angel H. Alvarado Jr., David A. Gomez, Milton Hernandez, John Mancha, Albert Fry Jr., Scott Flick, Elizabeth Slagsvol, Angelo Martinez
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
My Review
In some strange way the decision on how to grade “No Country For Old Men” mirrors the struggle that I have in appreciating art and the finer things in life. While I enjoyed much of the movie the initial taste of the ending left me with a bit of a sour stomache. And this is where I had to pick between the the road that most people seem to travel down and the road less traveled. Maybe that Frost guy knew something after all.
It is ironic that with this movie it seemed that my moviegoing experience not only didn’t end with the controversial ending, it actually flourished after the conclusion. I suppose that years ago as a younger man I would have written this movie off as one with a “stupid ending” and not given it a second thought. Like many of us, I would have tagged it with some cliche (maybe “I don’t want to have to think during my movies”) and moved on to the next hollywood piece of crap. I’m not sure when the “awakening” happened or even why it happened. I’m also not sure of what comes first – the realization that life exists on many levels or the want to discover these levels.
I guess it is a sign of a good movie that I am even able to draw these parallels to my own life. When “No Country” ended, I sat there for a minute trying to get over my initial shock and then I got to work trying to figure out what it all meant. I was enjoying the movie that I thought was taking place but it became evident that I had missed something, maybe even a lot. After a few hours of chewing on the movie and coming up with a few hypothesis I trekked out to the internet to see what others thought of it. Sure enough, this movie was critically acclaimed but not nearly as accepted by audiences. This is often the sign of a good movie as I am far more likely to trust the critics than I am the rest of the country. I believe that this is why I put so much faith in rottentomatoes.com. Some might consider this cheating but I don’t think so. I am trying to learn and to grow as both an appreciater of art and as a person. While there is something to blazing one’s own path I have always been a believer that sometimes we need a nudge to help us to see the beauty in something.
I am not going to get into the details of who did what and when in the movie – there are plenty of places to get that information. Quite honestly, the description of this movie doesn’t do it justice. Even if I did, you as the reader would have two ways to read this review – as a literal piece of work or as something that is a little deeper and meaningful than that. But then again, you have the same choice when you watch “No Country”, and that is the point.
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My Review - 9/10
9/10