No Country For Old Men

[Bannister]

This movie was lame if only because they took so much time showing certain details of stuff, then they skip the Llewellyn murder...rather than showing it happen.

(A coworker thinks the mexicans and not the ghost killed Llewelyn.)

IDK. Tommy Lee Jones' metaphore at the end sailed over my head too.

The Mexicans did kill Llewelyn.

 

[ProgMatinee]

The Mexicans did kill Llewelyn.

There you go. I only saw it once and as I said the fact they glossed over it made it confusing, especially considering they spent so much time on other stuff involving llewelyn that could have been edited out.

 

[galactiboy]

I too figured that he killed her... although rather than being able to have the coin toss dictate his action he was forced to "choose" to kill her, which was also part of his word.

Definitely my favorite movie from last year, and Chigurh was a brilliant character

 

[Jameson Rook]

I just saw this movie and my God am I extremely underwhelmed. I really don't mind the ending as much but when it comes down to what it has been building up to, none of them pays off. The offscreen death of Llewelyn Moss was the worst offender.

I'm not hating the movie, I'm just saying that a lot of buildup was ends up nowhere and even if they do it never feels satisfying. I sincerely wish that someone would explain what makes this movie so great as I truly do want to like it.

 

[uscmhicks]

It's definitely not everyones cup of tea. It's in my top three movies personally but I have friends who can't stand it.

 

[Jameson Rook]

It's definitely not everyones cup of tea. It's in my top three movies personally but I have friends who can't stand it.

I can't stand it, but like I said I want to enjoy it- or at least appreciate it for what it is. I though it was a sluggish movie that could benefit from an edit and the payoff was underwhelming. At least with "cartoony" villains like Heath Ledger's Joker you get the payoff and his insanity speaks for himself. This is funny because I always find The Dark Knight to be a bit pretentious!

In No Country For Old Men, we needed Woody Harrelson at the hospital scene to tell us how "crazy" Sugar is eventhough at that point I still didn't felt it.

Anyway, I'm looking for a good analysis on this movie to read/watch. I plan on giving the movie another view because I'm not giving up on trying to discover why it's held in such high regard.

 

[jstep13]

If you don't like it, don't like it. Why do you feel the need for people to convince you to like a movie you can't stand?

 

[uscmhicks]

I'd have a hard time describing why I love the movie so much. I find the dialogue , characters and whole premise gripping and fascinating. The way Anton is almost unstoppable and the way he just doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone other than his goal keeps the entire movie interesting and exciting for me , the tense scenes , beautiful cinematography , practically everything about this film I find brilliant.

I didn't need a payoff once I'd reached the final few scenes in the regards most would expect with the average movie and I wasn't expecting one based on the rest of the movie. At the end of the film the Sheriff decides that he no longer wants to be part of that world anymore, rather than continuing to purse Anton and people like him he realizes that this is " no country for old men " and chooses to retire and reflects upon this in the final scene.

I thought this gave the movie a fantastic sense of purpose. I don't think the point of the film is whether the guy you're rooting for managed to get away with the goods nor do I think it's a film about who wins or looses, the film is more about the Sheriff coming to realize where he stands in the world ( this would also be the reason he narrates ) and his views could definitely be frowned upon but after seeing the way Anton is throughout this whole movie, ruthless and completely inconsiderate of anyone else, murdering whoever gets in his way, law enforcer or not I can't blame the Sheriff for walking away.

After the Sheriff reflects on everything the film cuts to black and I thought it was the perfect ending.


I could talk about it for hours and have done with friends but at the end of the day it's just my view and I've read some fantastic articles and thoughts on the movie. I would say it's something that definitely needs to be watched more than once to truly appreciate it and understand the story it's trying to tell. The same can be said for most Coen brothers movies though.

I'm definetely biased though. I prefer slow burners and I had a birthday cake from this movie.

 

[Jameson Rook]

If you don't like it, don't like it. Why do you feel the need for people to convince you to like a movie you can't stand?

That's not what I meant. I meant that I am not getting this movie the way that people who praise it to be brilliant seems to do, and instead of just saying this is a a bad movie, I'm making an attempt to understand it as I feel that is the role of the viewer- to discuss and dissect the movie. I think it's the same way I ask my little brother on how to operate a Nintendo- because I want to play it. I apologize if I came off as bashing this movie or crying for attention.

I'd have a hard time describing why I love the movie so much. I find the dialogue , characters and whole premise gripping and fascinating. The way Anton is almost unstoppable and the way he just doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone other than his goal keeps the entire movie interesting and exciting for me , the tense scenes , beautiful cinematography , practically everything about this film I find brilliant.

I didn't need a payoff once I'd reached the final few scenes in the regards most would expect with the average movie and I wasn't expecting one based on the rest of the movie. At the end of the film the Sheriff decides that he no longer wants to be part of that world anymore, rather than continuing to purse Anton and people like him he realizes that this is " no country for old men " and chooses to retire and reflects upon this in the final scene.

I thought this gave the movie a fantastic sense of purpose. I don't think the point of the film is whether the guy you're rooting for managed to get away with the goods nor do I think it's a film about who wins or looses, the film is more about the Sheriff coming to realize where he stands in the world ( this would also be the reason he narrates ) and his views could definitely be frowned upon but after seeing the way Anton is throughout this whole movie, ruthless and completely inconsiderate of anyone else, murdering whoever gets in his way, law enforcer or not I can't blame the Sheriff for walking away.

After the Sheriff reflects on everything the film cuts to black and I thought it was the perfect ending.


I could talk about it for hours and have done with friends but at the end of the day it's just my view and I've read some fantastic articles and thoughts on the movie. I would say it's something that definitely needs to be watched more than once to truly appreciate it and understand the story it's trying to tell. The same can be said for most Coen brothers movies though.

I'm definetely biased though. I prefer slow burners and I had a birthday cake from this movie.

Thanks! That's a fascinating insight. I get the points you are mentioning but as a fan of this movie, I'm interested to know your opinions on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell as a character? By giving up the fight what are the filmmakers trying to say about the character?

 

[TheFiend]

One of my favorite movies.

 

[uscmhicks]

That's not what I meant. I meant that I am not getting this movie the way that people who praise it to be brilliant seems to do, and instead of just saying this is a a bad movie, I'm making an attempt to understand it as I feel that is the role of the viewer- to discuss and dissect the movie. I think it's the same way I ask my little brother on how to operate a Nintendo- because I want to play it. I apologize if I came off as bashing this movie or crying for attention.



Thanks! That's a fascinating insight. I get the points you are mentioning but as a fan of this movie, I'm interested to know your opinions on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell as a character? By giving up the fight what are the filmmakers trying to say about the character?

I've not read the book ( I don't read nearly enough books at all to be honest ) but I definitely want too. Considering the movie and I assume books ends on Tom Bell looking back on the entire situation I'd imagine it was purposely left open ended to ignite peoples imaginations and make their own minds up about it. Whether Tom was right or not depends on how you feel after watching the events unfold. As mentioned I personally can understand why he walked away and chose to retire instead of trying to resolve the situation since like he says in a round about way, they'll always be people like Anton despite most normal people not understanding why and how they do what they do and then on the other side of the coin ( " coin... " ) they'll always be someone trying to stop them.

From what I took from it I don't think the film makers were trying to say anything about the character other than he chose to walk away when he realized , as bleak as it might sound , that there wasn't really any point anymore. Justice , revenge and everything else that gives people that sense of meaning doesn't really apply in a setting surrounded by people who couldn't care less about the nature of things in general.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

Great movie, great villain. One of my favorite Coen bros. Movies.
I think people dislike this for similar reason that people didn't like A Thin Red Line when that came out. A lot more subdued and cerebral when compared to Saving Private Ryan which was all about the action. Two different movies.

 

[Batty]

Love this movie! In a long list of great Coen Bros. movies, I think this is one of their best.

Nice bump, btw.