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No Country for
Old Men
Starring:
Josh Brolin, Javier Barden, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald
Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Produced by:
Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Written
by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor: Paramount Vantage, Miramax Films |
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In my five years as a critic, I have learned that the best films
seek deep into one’s conscience, witling away at one’s senses
long after one has seen them. It is, in part, my job to come to
terms with this: to try to explain the unexplainable, to put
said films’ accomplishments into words. With No Country for
Old Men, I am unable to do this. Not since 2003’s Lost in
Translation has a motion picture left me so speechless, so
eager to cling onto the way that it made me feel rather
than to dissect it into wordy pieces. In fact, I can’t really
say what it is about this film that allows me to respond to it
in the way that I do. Sure, I could narrow my admiration for its
many accomplishments down to a few surface descriptors: Javier
Bardem gives a miraculous performance as Anton Chigurh, quite
possibly the most chilling film villain since Hannibal Lecter;
the Coen Brothers return to form in the director’s chair,
scrapping a musical score and relying on long,
masterfully-constructed takes to create atmosphere instead; and
cinematographer Roger Deakins gives the whole picture an eerie,
dimly-lit vibe that allows it to slowly work its way into the
viewer’s mind. But even after realizing what I admire most about
No Country for Old Men, I still can’t put my finger on
what exactly allows it to come together in the stunningly
affecting way that it does. Maybe it’s source-author Cormac
McCarthy’s command of the American Southwestern setting. Perhaps
it’s the Coen Brother’s adaptation of McCarthy’s challenging
language. It could even be Josh Brolin’s quietly commanding
presence in the lead role of hunted-down-hunter Llewelyn Moss.
Even if I’m not sure of the reason, I do know that No Country
for Old Men is a masterpiece. I’ve already seen it twice and
all I want to do is see it again.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 12.21.2008
Screened on:
11.19.2007 at the Edwards Mira Mesa 18 in Mira Mesa, CA and on
12.6.2007 at the Krikorian Vista Village Metroplex 15 in Vista,
CA.
No Country for Old Men is rated R and
runs 122 minutes.
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