'You can't stop whats coming, ain't all waiting on you, that's vanity'
No Country for Old Men 9
Texas. 1980. The Opening narrated shots showing the area are a clear evocation of the Coen's great debut film Blood Simple, which for those who have seen it, gives you a bit of a clue as to what may be coming.
It's not a particularly easy film to analyse. It drops us right in it, we see a scary looking Javier Bardem killing a couple of people with one of the coolest weapons in films. Then we see Josh Brolin hunting, with prey in his sights. Similarly to the foreshadowing used in the Prisoners opening, at this point we may assume he is going to be hunting the killer, but it doesn't turn out that way. Significantly we see him lining up the shot, then adjusting the sights, then he shoots and although he hits the animal, he hits the wrong part and it can still run off, so the sight was slightly off.. which has to be symbolic. He messed with it just a bit too much and lost out because of it, which happens in the story. He finds a drug deal gone wrong, some corpses and money and sees his chance to take it. Later his curiosity gets the better of him and when going back to investigate further he gets caught up in the mess. The trouble is that of course there are others out there with the same idea, others that will have been expecting shipments etc. He just about gets away alive but now he is being chased by Javier Bardem, hired to find the missing cash. Much of the rest of the story is played out with such control that you feel like it takes over your expectations. No matter how many times you've seen it, you always have to appreciate the craft.
It looks like a classic cat and mouse structure, then after nearly 30 mins we meet Tommy Lee Jones, the local Sheriff, making this a 3 party chase. Later, and briefly, it becomes a 4 way when Woody shows up. The film is geniusly bookended with Tommy speaking. His opening speech acts as an introduction to the world and his feeling of not fitting in anymore, talking about old timers who didn't have to carry guns etc. Also he is talking to us like we are already familiar with the people and places he is referencing, helping us to feel involved. His closing conversarion is Coen brothers all over, it's ambiguous but clearly meaningful, however you interpret it. Tommy is retired now and describes his dreams to his wife, both include his father (which is his link to the old times, and clearly why he became sheriff himself) and becoming further away from him.
Tommy Lee's performance is so much in the voice here, in his opening especially he sounds grizzled, world weary, almost disgusted at what he has seen and wistfully longing for what he saw in years gone by. Alot of it is the dialogue but for me, his work here is nearly on par with Daniel Day Lewis' voice in There Will be Blood. In fact there are more similarities with TWBB, it was filmed in the same area at the same time and famously the smoke from the oil fire in TWBB interrupted the filming for No Country. There are some similar themes and similar beautiful cinematography (from Roger Deakins in this case, long time Coen's collaborator) which in this uses lots of silhouettes, slow zooms, lingering face shots for intensity and wide, flat vistas so we feel exposed.
It would be easy to take this story at face value as just a chase film, and with even just that it would still be a great one. But with alot of the Coen Brothers' films, there is much more to it than just the surface. One of the main themes of the film, as the title suggests, and has been the theme of many classic westerns, is the world moving on and leaving the old boys (represented by Tommy Lee and Josh Brolin) behind. They're a different breed, the script even says how the old ones always say sir or mam. Like lots of great films there's alot of subtlety in the story, it leaves some plot details to the imagaination, even some major character deaths happen off camera. Also it shows and doesn't tell parts of the story, and what it does tell it whispers and doesn't shout. For instance, when Josh goes back to the deal site at night and is running from the car chasing him, a shot shows him from behind and on the horizon there is a flash of lightning, so he is running towards a storm, figuratively and literally. I appreciate this subtle approach in films because it pays to pay attention, which in turn helps put us in the character's shoes.
Even when surrounded by all the impending doom, the script still cleverly finds room to be abstract and have some humour in the dialogue (you could almost call it a black comedy) The genius of this is that it doesn't seem out of place, and it reminds us that mostly we're dealing with real, honest people. All the dialogue is pretty genius, it can build tension or release it, depending on what's necessary. There are periods of silence, there are shots where there appears to be nothing there, but we know there must be, and subtle plot points. For instance, we are briefly shown that the money has a tracker in it and Anton has the receiver. It's important because it's the tension that drives the story forward. A key way of building tension, as per the Hitchcock quote I mentioned previously, is to make sure the audience knows more than the character we relate to, so we know how much danger he's in before he does, and we know how close they are to eachother before they do. Also the sound design helps as we can hear little noises when things are otherwise silent. After about 20 minutes I realised there had been no music, so I was waiting for some but there was none throughout.
The most famous scene may be the coin toss in the gas station, which is interesting in terms of trying to figure out Anton, and chilling because it forces you to consider what you would do with this guy in front of you, but for me there are even better scenes. The three scenes around the drug deal gone wrong are all brilliant (It was recreated in GTA 5) Josh at day and night are both full of dread, and then Tommy trying to figure it out. The bodies all look utterly convincing, as is the case throughout, and there's something brilliantly unsettling about the setting of the scene with everything strewn about, I imagine they took some time arranging it all. I especially love the scene of Tommy meeting Ellis and having a coffee, it's one of my favourite all time conversation scenes, it is perfectly directed, acted and paced. We don't know exactly who the guy is other than an older law man and probably a relative, but Tommy only goes there once he has no ideas left so clearly respects his opinion. They have a bit of small talk then Tommy gets on to business. But I don't think he's really there looking for answers, by this point he pretty much knows there aren't any to find. I think it's more about coming to terms with what he's feeling and being reassured that he's been well beaten fair and square and that others have been in the same situation in the past.
The casting is pretty much perfect. I think it's Tommy Lee's best work, Javier and Josh B both smash it. It would have been easy to have 3 actors who are just there to take the story from one scene to the next, but the performances elevate the film to another level of complexity. Josh is a classic cowboy, rough, tough and reserved. He never seems to actually want the money, interestingly though when he gets to the motel he says he only needs a single but next thing we see him in a much bigger room so he obviously isn't aversed to spending it. I think Tommy is the most interesting character, he is chasing someone he doesn't know exists, and feels out of his depth. He often has a worried look, even if he sounds confident. We know what he's up against, that Anton is the worst type of psychopath, the calm, controlled type, much more Hannibal Lecter than Leatherface, he is relentless but will not be rushed and we never really see his motivation which makes him seem even more scary. I think he kills all of the major characters he meets. I had forgotten just how great Kelly MacDonald was in this though, she almost steals the show in her scenes, and we see a young Caleb Landry Jones at the end for good measure. With all the great character stuff, its not really about the money, noone ends up with it, it's another MacGufffin.
The film is littered with little ramdom things but most have meanings (abstract or otherwise) when you consider them. Unexpected moments, tiny things that put you on edge and some nice symbolism. In the scene where Javier and Woody meet, the phone rings extra loud, it's almost a jump scare. The guy sat behind the desk in the big office I think represents big business, controlling the supply and demand from afar, seemingly safe but eventually Anton gets to him. I think the mother scene is meant to show how family can hold you back and be used against you. The ending with Anton's crash has always interested me. I like a Deus Ex Machina ending when something entirely unexpected and unrelated happens (Kubrick's the Killing may have done it best) but also, by leaving Anton's story somewhat unresolved, it almost becomes just another episode in life. Also what else at this point could have really happened, I think its a good move that Tommy and Javier never met. It also made me realise that, whether it's meant to mean anything important or not, Anton and Llewelyn both buy clothes off strangers after getting hurt, which can't just be a coincidence.
The Coen brothers are up there with the best of modern filmmakers, I've seen all but 3 of their films and I think this is joint top for me with Fargo. No Country is so competently made with respect for the audience. Even if the plot isn't totally, the action is believable, it avoids that awful clichè of people getting shot at multiple times by trained marksmen and not getting hit, noone is safe in this. It is another film which is full of so much good stuff besides the story, things to keep you thinking and ways of subverting expectations - something the Coens almost always do. I'm sure there are many things in it that I missed. It is one of the few classics of this century.
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