No Country for Old Men is a Winner

We accidentally saw the last five minutes of “No Country for Old Men” in a theatre. The movie we went to see had not started, so I poked my head in just to waste some time.
The reaction after the movie ended was very interesting. People just sat there. When it was obvious the fade to black was the end, the comments were “that’s it?” “wow” “what?”

After seeing the whole movie from the beginning I would have had the exact same reaction.

This is a movie I will buy. It’s a Coen Brothers movie, and I have watched Fargo a dozen times, and just added Blood Simple to my Q.

To set the stage for a drug deal gone bad, there are set up shots of the sparseness of far west Texas. This is an area that we have never been. Seeing this movie doesn’t change the fact that I probably will never want to visit this area.
Very interesting set up of the characters that become major players in the action. The gruesome bloody action started early in the movie and continued throughout at an acceptable pace.
What a great villian (Anton Chigurh) and how nice it is to see the target (Josh Brolin) actually show some guts and ingenuity to try to get the upper hand. It was believable because to live in remote west Texas, I think you have to pass a “man’s man” test.
Tommy Lee Jones plays his typical irascible role as the lawman. It’s a role that I like, but this wasn’t a stretch for him by any means.

Hopelessness was everywhere. This is not a movie with a happy ending. But the ending is appropriate. It also ends with sequel written all over it.

9 Responses to “No Country for Old Men is a Winner”

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1 K8
Apr 11th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

That’s how you know a film is good… by the way the ending arrives too quickly.
2 goinglikesixty
Apr 11th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

K8: excellent point. You get involved in the story and characters you want it to keep on.
3 Swubird
Apr 12th, 2008 at 10:12 am

That’s a big 10-4 old buddy. I agree with you 100 percent. I loved the movie. I would also buy it. And, I don’t know how many time I’ll watch Fargo - I’m still counting.

Great post, and great blog. One little problem, however, my iMac can’t see your comments link. It would help if you would make it a different color. Also, the writing in this comments section is so light against the white background that I can barely make it out.

HAve a nice day, ans stop by my Swubird site sometime.

Swubird’s last blog post..I HATE YOU!
4 goinglikesixty
Apr 12th, 2008 at 10:23 am

@Swubird: Thanks for the feedback on the site. I know I have some problems, but my code monkey has been out of pocket. It looks OK in FF, but other browsers are problems. Actually, the site looks like crap compared to what I want! (view in FF for best results.)
I’ll drop by your place.
5 Joy
Apr 12th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

This one’s in my NetFlix Queue….I’m anxious to see it. Thanks for the review Mark.

Joy’s last blog post..Little Blue Booties
6 Thornton
Apr 13th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

Right there with you, GLS. No Country was great. The book was also fantastic. I’ve heard rumors that two more Cormac McCarthy novels are headed for the big screen right now: The Road (oddly enough, this is also an Oprah’s Book Club book) and Blood Meridian. A word of warning, though: if you thought No Country was violent, these two make it look like an episode of The Smurfs: At one point while I was reading The Road, I actually slammed the book down and got up to walk it off — Brutal stuff, but in that sublime kind of way.

Thornton’s last blog post..Update on Axel’s Playset
7 goinglikesixty
Apr 13th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

@Thornton: Wow! I’ll want to see those for sure. Actually the killings in NCFOM were bloody but not especially gruesome, as I think about it.
8 Hairy Weisenheimmer
Apr 26th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Ok…after reading your review I went ahead and rented NCFOM. It kept me riveted. Surprises around every corner.
The end sucked great big, green, hairy, weasel winkies.
Hairy Weisenheimmer’s last blog post..Saturday Morning Flashbacks 5
9 goinglikesixty
Apr 27th, 2008 at 9:09 am

@Harry Weisenheimmer: Since I saw the ending twice, one out of context and heard the reaction, I figured I would feel the same as you and them.
When I saw it in context, I thought it was about right. No happy ending to that story. No justice. Just life goes on.