help me understand "no country for old men"

[david]

***?

[markie]

It is a modern cinematographic movie depicting the aftermath of a drug-deal gone wrong.

What did you not get?

[Chris]

Saw it and loved it. Minimal characters. Minimal music. Just the tension between the characters and situation in which they find themselves. Now on to 'There Will Be Blood'

[Viper]

When I saw the quotes ("....") I immediately thought to myself, "That is probably a quote from Gloria Steinem" but then I googled it and found this:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=no+country+for+old+men

:D

[Flat Out]

It's the Coen brothers. *** is how they roll.

[markie]

What was really ***? about it?

[michael white]

if y'all don't know cormac mccarthy, you should.

that's his landscape.

[rnhood]

Did you not see "Fargo", because if you didn't then you're missing another good movie.

[mosca]

***?
Yeah, I went and bought the book after I saw the film, thinking that maybe whatever I had missed would be revealed to me. No luck though, that film is about 110% true to the book as far as I can tell. I think there's some "Existentialist Americana" thing going on there, but it left me a little cold.

And I'm still bitter about Into the Wild being snubbed for best picture, etc. That was the best movie I've seen in a long time.

[Climb01742]

wait until your s.o. drags you to "atonement". "no country for old men" will look like freakin' citizen cane. the last 5 mins of atonement are quite good; the preceding 90 blow chunks.

anyone seen "there will be blood"?

and if you haven't seen "juno", go. sweet and funny.

[david]

What was really ***? about it?

don't get me wrong. i loved it.
as i've loved all the coen bros flix.
just thought the last scene was a bit ***.
in a good way.
but still ***.

[Moveitfred]

don't get me wrong. i loved it.
as i've loved all the coen bros flix.
just thought the last scene was a bit ***.
in a good way.
but still ***.

Same as the book. Absolutely perfect. Blame McCarthy.

[Chris]

don't get me wrong. i loved it.
as i've loved all the coen bros flix.
just thought the last scene was a bit ***.
in a good way.
but still ***.

Now I'm smelling what you are stepping in. That was totally ***. I haven't seen people walk out of a movie so stunned and in silence since the end of Seven.

[david]

Yeah, I went and bought the book after I saw the film, thinking that maybe whatever I had missed would be revealed to me. No luck though, that film is about 110% true to the book as far as I can tell. I think there's some "Existentialist Americana" thing going on there, but it left me a little cold.

And I'm still bitter about Into the Wild being snubbed for best picture, etc. That was the best movie I've seen in a long time.

after seeing into the wild, i went back to re-read the book ten years after i first read it.
penn did a great job of being faithful to the words, almost to the exact word, of the people quoted by krakauer. very sad story - especially from a parent's perspective.

[hypnos]

wait until your s.o. drags you to "atonement". "no country for old men" will look like freakin' citizen cane. the last 5 mins of atonement are quite good; the preceding 90 blow chunks.

I agree 100%, James.

[markie]

just thought the last scene was a bit ***.


**** happens even to people who seem invlulnerable, the opposite of this guy: http://cache01.stormap.sapo.pt/fotostore01/fotos//0f/1e/57/29108_000bb9gp.jpg

Still a clear head and resourcefulness will see you through. Must be nice to feel no pain?

[ciclisto]

As a serious movie goer, I usually see most films The "No country" was Ok but the hype ruined it as it was not that great, very good compared to most but not first rate. Now "Let there be Blood" One of the best ever, I loved it and since I have ridden my motorcycle where it took place west of Bakersfield Cal It was spectacular. Daniel Day Lewis is the best; After seeing it I went out to rent two of his best. "In The Name Of The Father" and "BOXER" if you havn't seen these rent them again, better than most drekk they make." Kingdom" was good if you like action and it shows a lot of inside Saudi Arabia like the prince's house which puts any 5* hotel to shame. and then the poor bastards who live like Tijauna (these are where the terrorists breed) I would recommend this to feminist women who hate the USA, they should vacation there......................cheers.

[Too Tall]

Some things I dug about that movie included what appeared to be towns, houses and props that were literally borrowed from previous occupants....I mean dat sheet was perfect...props??? No, that was really amazing.
Dewds, for two yrs. I lived in and town and hung with cats like that. Good people, tough lives. Stories like that are not completely ***, give me a few good beers I'll tell yah a few.

[SoCalSteve]

Some things I dug about that movie included what appeared to be towns, houses and props that were literally borrowed from previous occupants....I mean dat sheet was perfect...props??? No, that was really amazing.
Dewds, for two yrs. I lived in and town and hung with cats like that. Good people, tough lives. Stories like that are not completely ***, give me a few good beers I'll tell yah a few.

Filmed on location in Marfa, TX and NM.

I know this as my boss and dear friend did all the picture cars for both locations ( during our hiatus from the TV show we do). Of course, politics as they are, he didnt not get credit for this...Long story.

So yeah, practical locations were used.

Steve

PS: "Practical" in the movie biz means a "real" location as opposed to a movie set on a stage on a studio lot.

[Chief]

Read the book a year before the movie came out. Saw the movie twice. (I know a couple of other people who have done the same.) Went the second time to concentrate more on the great lines. After seeing the movie twice, I re-read the book. I'm a great McCarthy fan. (The Road by McCarthy is also a must read.) In the book, but not in the movie, Chigurh turns over the money, less expenses, to, presumably, the owner. While Chigurh is a real psychopath, and whatever else you may think of him, he is a very disciplined one with uncompromising principles; ie, he is a man of his word and there is no in between. A really great character. IMHO, Bardem did a great job of protraying Chigurh and is deserving of an Academy Award. The final scene depicts an old broken, retired scheriff who spent his whole adult life helping and protecting people, and like many who go into retirement without any outside interest because they were singularly consumed by their work, he is having trouble dealing with retirement, knowing that his best days are behind him and he is in the waning years of his life. Develop your biking interest or other hobbies because it will serve you well later. How's that for a bit of philosophy?

[mosca]

In the book, but not in the movie, Chigurh turns over the money, less expenses, to, presumably, the owner.Hmmm, I wonder why the change. That detail goes a long way towards defining Chigurh, imho.

I agree about Javier Bardem, he did an amazing job of defining a rather (deliberately) amorphous character.

[gomez308]

I thought it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I read the book afterwards. The movie is almost word for word straight from the book. Probably the truest testament to a movie.

I've since read some of McCarthy's other books( The Border Trilogy). They are hard for me to read because of his lack of punctuation. He rarely if ever uses quotation marks. He also uses the spanish language frequently with no translation.

In spite of this. These books were very fulfilling to read and I got a lot out of them. His characters can make you laugh and cry at the same time. You feel like you are going through their tribulations.

[Louis]

just thought the last scene was a bit ***.

Leaving the house or the accident?

[MarinRider]

The final scene depicts an old broken, retired scheriff who spent his whole adult life helping and protecting people, and like many who go into retirement without any outside interest because they were singularly consumed by their work, he is having trouble dealing with retirement, knowing that his best days are behind him and he is in the waning years of his life. Develop your biking interest or other hobbies because it will serve you well later. How's that for a bit of philosophy?

That's a great summary. I'd also add that there is great irony to that final scene and to that character: a worn down sherriff who is wiser than most, who gave his life for what is just, who fought the good fight with sweat and blood, but also who realizes the hopelessness to his plight, to his senseless existence, and the nullity of it all hunts him.

Chigurh, on the contrary, is not hunted. He is commiitted to a set of truth, however twisted and evil they are.

[GoJavs]

Just finished reading Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'. That dude can write some pretty disturbing stuff.

Combined with the Coen Bros. - that must be one tasty combo. Haven't seen it yet though. :rolleyes:

[eddief]

only one critic on rottentomatoes.com had the nerve to give a view that was different from the herd and just happened to agree with mine. He mentioned the philosophy "nihilism" to be the orientation of the film. Yes, I know the world is so F-ed up we can't quite get a grip, buy why spend money on tickets and popcorn to have that sh*t thrown in your face from a 100 foot big screen? So I googled nihilism, (yes, I do live in Berkeley, but have only an MA in Business) and thereby learned about the point of view of the movie. Maybe I even agree with the point of view, but I gotta tell you, my butthole hurt when I walked out of there because I thought the Coen brothers had just stuck their camera up my arse. Don't need to pay money to watch that stuff.

If that is the best picture of the year then we do have something to worry about as it relates to the values of this weird place we live.

Now Juno, there's a good movie.

[Louis]

Eddie, go see "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

Exact opposite of "No Country."

I enjoyed both.

[jeffg]

only one critic on rottentomatoes.com had the nerve to give a view that was different from the herd and just happened to agree with mine. He mentioned the philosophy "nihilism" to be the orientation of the film. Yes, I know the world is so F-ed up we can't quite get a grip, buy why spend money on tickets and popcorn to have that sh*t thrown in your face from a 100 foot big screen? So I googled nihilism, (yes, I do live in Berkeley, but have only an MA in Business) and thereby learned about the point of view of the movie. Maybe I even agree with the point of view, but I gotta tell you, my butthole hurt when I walked out of there because I thought the Coen brothers had just stuck their camera up my arse. Don't need to pay money to watch that stuff.

If that is the best picture of the year then we do have something to worry about as it relates to the values of this weird place we live.

Now Juno, there's a good movie.

but this about more than your "valuable time."
I cannot think of much film worth watching that makes you feel comfortable. Try Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Citizen Kane, etc.

I much prefer Wim Wender's Paris, Texas to No Country for Old Men -- that is a film worth watching, much like Wings of Desire. Rent Paris, Texas on this rainy NorCal weekend and tell me if that moves you ...

BTW, Juno is one of those trying too hard to be too cool for school movies that denigrates its subject matter. Ask people I know who gave up a child for adoption and see how they feel. I would ask my mother how she felt about giving me up at 16 if I knew her or really cared. I got a family way better than Jason Bateman :cool:

[bcm119]

only one critic on rottentomatoes.com had the nerve to give a view that was different from the herd and just happened to agree with mine. He mentioned the philosophy "nihilism" to be the orientation of the film. Yes, I know the world is so F-ed up we can't quite get a grip, buy why spend money on tickets and popcorn to have that sh*t thrown in your face from a 100 foot big screen? So I googled nihilism, (yes, I do live in Berkeley, but have only an MA in Business) and thereby learned about the point of view of the movie. Maybe I even agree with the point of view, but I gotta tell you, my butthole hurt when I walked out of there because I thought the Coen brothers had just stuck their camera up my arse. Don't need to pay money to watch that stuff.

If that is the best picture of the year then we do have something to worry about as it relates to the values of this weird place we live.

Now Juno, there's a good movie.

Gotta disagree with you there eddie. If you left pissed off, the movie did its job. Its art-- its supposed to invoke some emotion. You don't have to relate to a single thing or person in the movie to appreciate it.

Its all about purpose and the giant void between reality and your own perception. The movie uses a culture/landscape that seems foreign to us yet exists in our own country. It uses fantastic imagery to convey a sense of place - west texas- and characters to go along with the landscape. How does "purpose" manifest itself on the landscape and people of that unforgiving environment? Yeah its nihilistic, if you approach it expecting all the standard movie components -which it specifically lacks- but it challenges you and makes you wonder about yourself and other people. The film asks you: what is your purpose, and is it really as relevant to the world as you think?

It tackles big things, its riveting, sometimes funny, unpredictable, superbly acted... I don't know how you can claim this isn't a worthwhile movie, unless you're being spiteful because it pissed you off. :beer:

[keno]

I thought that "No Country..." was terrific. I agree with much of what Chief wrote. Additionally, I think that the moment of truth for the sheriff occurred when in the motel room knowing that Chigurh was nearby. The sheriff realized that he had lost a step or two and simply was not going to prevail and that it was time to get out of the game, and he did (unlike too many professional athletes, boxers, in particular). Perhaps because Chief and I are a bit long in the tooth that message comes through more easily.

I loved the aspect of the movie which focused on Chigurh's coin tossing, and he then was the object of something similar when the old driver crashed into his car.

On the other hand, "There Will Be Blood" was, for me, a long, boring movie. I need someone to tell me why it has been considered by many to be so good. During the denouement I realized that I was more interested in whether that was a pinsetting device in the bowling alley than in the drama culminating in the preacher getting his brains bashed in by a drunk prick.

keno

[Climb01742]

this discussion sparked a question. what do you think of david lynch's "the straight story"? the story is small and very human, and unlike any of lynch's other films. yet when i try to think of "great" movies i've seen in the past oh say 10 years, i keep coming back to it. curious what others thought. for me, "no country for old men" tried too hard to say something. "the straight story" said something so simply and effortlessly.

[david]

this discussion sparked a question. what do you think of david lynch's "the straight story"? the story is small and very human, and unlike any of lynch's other films. yet when i try to think of "great" movies i've seen in the past oh say 10 years, i keep coming back to it. curious what others thought. for me, "no country for old men" tried too hard to say something. "the straight story" said something so simply and effortlessly.

thanks for reminding me to see that film. i've always wanted to yet somehow i've never gotten around to it. netflix.

on the other end of the spectrum with mr lynch... lost highway.
weapons-grade ***.
still, the image of powder-faced robert blake will be with me forever. happily.

[gomez308]

only one critic on rottentomatoes.com had the nerve to give a view that was different from the herd and just happened to agree with mine. He mentioned the philosophy "nihilism" to be the orientation of the film. Yes, I know the world is so F-ed up we can't quite get a grip, buy why spend money on tickets and popcorn to have that sh*t thrown in your face from a 100 foot big screen? So I googled nihilism, (yes, I do live in Berkeley, but have only an MA in Business) and thereby learned about the point of view of the movie. Maybe I even agree with the point of view, but I gotta tell you, my butthole hurt when I walked out of there because I thought the Coen brothers had just stuck their camera up my arse. Don't need to pay money to watch that stuff.

If that is the best picture of the year then we do have something to worry about as it relates to the values of this weird place we live.

Now Juno, there's a good movie.

Reminds me of my best friend. He will only see a movie that makes him smile.

[Chris]

Reminds me of my best friend. He will only see a movie that makes him smile.

There's nothing wrong with that either. The world has enough random suffering without answers being provided or resolutions achieved without being forced to watch negative movies ALL the time. The beauty of no country captures that though. Rarely in life do we have murders, suicides, or other tragedies that make sense and are completely wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end. Usually, we are left scratching our head wondering why those things happened the way they did. That is uncomfortable and that is exactly how no country leaves you feeling.

[Ray]

this discussion sparked a question. what do you think of david lynch's "the straight story"? the story is small and very human, and unlike any of lynch's other films. yet when i try to think of "great" movies i've seen in the past oh say 10 years, i keep coming back to it. curious what others thought. for me, "no country for old men" tried too hard to say something. "the straight story" said something so simply and effortlessly.
We like the same stuff Climb. I loved "The Straight Story". Never even knew it was a Lynch film until well after I'd seen it. And Juno is my favorite of the current crop by a mile. Both of them are profound, but the profound is in the little human details, not in the big sweeping statements. They both make you smile at times and cry at times, but its just real folks going through pretty heavy *****, not huge worlds in turmoil.

I'm planning another cross country trip when I'm old too. Don't know whether it'll be on a lawnmower, bike, or whatever's passing for cars when I'm old. But it's gonna take a long time and I'm gonna stop all the time along the way. Not more than 30-50 miles a day should do it.

-Ray

[eddief]

I'm not a prude and can certainly handle turmoil and violence. I just think No Country went way overboard simply for the sake of going overboard. At some point after seeing 3 people off-ed the same way, that was enough. I don't care what you are trying to convey. You conveyed it!

I guess Cronenberg did not write the screenplay for Eastern Promises, but it had a beauty, efficiency, and poeticness....along with an artistic sort of violence.

Viggo and Naomi.

I enjoyed the subtlety.

[markie]

I guess Cronenberg did not write the screenplay for Eastern Promises

Did you not find A history of violence to be similar to no country for old men?

[eddief]

different approaches to violence and the different approaches to story telling. Seems in No Country the violence was very repetitive and after all of it, regardless of Tommy being at the end of the line, the ending was fartless...so to speak. My recollection of the History of Violence was the human factors were so much more available and in juxtoposition to the absurdity of the violence. And the the arc of the story was more satisfying for my taste. After all, its just how we each relate to what we see on the screen. Kinda like verticle compliance.

[Climb01742]

We like the same stuff Climb. I loved "The Straight Story". Never even knew it was a Lynch film until well after I'd seen it. And Juno is my favorite of the current crop by a mile. Both of them are profound, but the profound is in the little human details, not in the big sweeping statements. They both make you smile at times and cry at times, but its just real folks going through pretty heavy *****, not huge worlds in turmoil.

I'm planning another cross country trip when I'm old too. Don't know whether it'll be on a lawnmower, bike, or whatever's passing for cars when I'm old. But it's gonna take a long time and I'm gonna stop all the time along the way. Not more than 30-50 miles a day should do it.

-Ray

the scene in "the straight story" around the camp fire with the runaway girl chokes me up every time and will stick with me my whole life. isn't art simply telling a small human truth?

[mosca]

There was a complete absence of poetic justice at the end of "No Country" - I thought it was both the film's greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Sort of like listening to a Gang of Four record, where they chose to do things just because they wanted to avoid convention, to break down the barriers between art and life.

And I agree about "The Straight Story". So many films, even Lynch's, are style over content, but that one was just the opposite. Still gotta love "Blue Velvet" though. :)

[michael white]

There was a complete absence of poetic justice at the end of "No Country"

I totally disagree. Yeah, it's grim--in a rather biblical, Old Testament way--it isn't comforting . . . but that's the beauty of it. Anything less would've ruined it.

[mosca]

I totally disagree. Yeah, it's grim--in a rather biblical, Old Testament way--it isn't comforting . . . but that's the beauty of it. Anything less would've ruined it.Well, I enjoyed the grimness, but the ending seemed a bit random and out of place to me, basically being grafted on to a rather conventional noir-thriller storyline. I'll have to bone up on my Old Testament before I render any further judgement however. ;)

This is my favorite OT thread in a while, though. Good comments all.

[michael white]

think famine, plague of locusts, Job, etc. . . .

[cloudguy]

I liked the this movie and the way it played with my expectations of the characters, kinda like 3:10 to Yuma. The movie starts off with this tough tracker-hunter dude, who seems like he can take care of himself. So I'm
thinking: how is this guy is gonna "win" in the end and take down Mr. Weird Haircut? But then the hunter get's wacked, and I think "dang". Ok, so then the crafty veteran cop's gonna get him, right? Dang again. The cop ends up going crackers about his dreams in the end. This ending is what I don't get though. In the beginning of the film, the cop says something about chasing the bad dude would bring "hazzard to his soul", or something like that. What the heck does that mean? Why didn't he dedicate himself to catching the dude?

Also, when the cop goes to the hotel room at the end, where did Mr. Weird Haircut go so fast? Did the cop see his reflection in the door hole, just like Haircut seemed to see the cop?

[Russell]

***?

Best movie I have seen in a while. The title tells everything.

[sc53]

Just saw Old Country last night, best movie I've seen in a long long time. Cormac McCarthy is a one of a kind novelist, read his books to understand his point of view, definitely not mainstream. I've been reading comments on the movie online since last night and here are some good ones right on the Serotta forum, who knew?

[wren]

Great thread, thanks.

I've been a long time fan of Mr. McCarthy's writing, since I read Blood Meridian back when I was in college. This discussion made me go back and find an article I read years ago (apparently based on the longest interview he has ever given) that had a quote that always stuck with me. The article observes that the violence of his books is stripped of any "anesthetic of psychology" or modern social explanations. Very Old Testament indeed, and I think that is what unsettles so many people these days.

Requires NYT registration, but here it is . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/mccarthy-venom.html?_r=1&oref=login

And the quote that stuck with me:

"There's no such thing as life without bloodshed," McCarthy says philosophically. "I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous."

Not saying I agree, but if you read his books, you quickly see that it is a firmly held belief for him.

[tch]

I totally disagree. Yeah, it's grim--in a rather biblical, Old Testament way--it isn't comforting . . . but that's the beauty of it. Anything less would've ruined it.
How can there be so little acclaim for Gone Baby Gone? Sure the film is essentially just a thriller, but talk about endings.... That final scene where Casey Affleck just sits with the kid watching TV is about as anti-Hollywood as it gets. I've seen all the movies mentioned here (and I like No Country), but I thought Into the Wild and Gone Baby, Gone were the real snubs of the Oscars.

Talk about ***: Atonement is like a huge, overdone Lifetime movie. And just how subtle is a film with the "underlying theme" named in the title, just in case the audience is too dumb to get it?

[goonster]

Lots of good comments.

Just wanted to add that 'No Country' is a very atypical Coen Bros. film. It's really the first one where the violence comes without a smirk. I guess that's what unsettles folks. It's OK if there is a tube-socked leg in the woodchipper, as long as the very next shot has Marge Gundersen pointing at the badge on her hat, w00t. We are used to this detachment, and it makes us squirm when we don't get it.

So here we have a film without the signature slow-motion shots, and with the tongue resolutely out of the cheek the whole time. And then we also get the McCarthy vision served up with all the trimmings for the first time, since 'All the Pretty Horses' doesn't really count.

If people were freaked out by this, what will they say about 'Blood Meridian'? :eek: (Ridley Scott is the wrong guy to direct that)

[Seramount]

The Coen Bros. are so very talented, I enjoy their films immensely...they haven't disappointed me yet.

For me, one test of whether a movie is good or not is when I can suspend disbelief and enter a state of mind where I forget I'm watching a film...I may not like the characters, or enjoy their actions, but if I find myself completely involved, the director and the actors have done their jobs.

That's why cretins who talk in movies and take cell calls which disrupt that 'involvement' need to be tasered.

ps: appreciatethe heads-up on Atonement, I almost got scammed into going to that one...sounds like a dog.

[BURCH]

wait until your s.o. drags you to "atonement". "no country for old men" will look like freakin' citizen cane. the last 5 mins of atonement are quite good; the preceding 90 blow chunks.

anyone seen "there will be blood"?

and if you haven't seen "juno", go. sweet and funny.

My wife and I will sometimes split up at the movies. She saw "Atonement" and I saw "No country for old men". We discussed the movies over pizza later on. I thought the acting and directing was great in "NCF Old men", but the ending left me hanging. I like more closure in a movie. Oh well.

And I about fell asleep when my wife retold the plot to "Atonement". Glad I missed it.

[Onno]

I was expecting not to like "No Country," because "Fargo," the movie that several critics were comparing it to, seemed so, well, nihilistic. I thought "No Country" was brilliant, especially in the way it evoked the idea of choice as the root of moral and immoral action. The nearly final scene, with the Kelly MacDonald character refusing to accept the coin toss, really drove this home in a brilliant way, I thought.

Two questions for further discussion, if anyone is interested:

What happened in the motel room when the Sheriff goes into it? Why doesn't he actually encounter Chigurh, whom we've seen images of inside? I was very confused (and very tense) during the scene.

Since we're also talking about over-looked movies here, why has "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" been so totally overlooked? It's a lot like "No Country," except that you really see the moral quandaries of the characters, as well as the inevitability of their descent. It seems very scarily plausible and real (unlike "No Country" and "Gone Baby Gone" which someone mentioned earlier). The acting is brilliant--Philip Seymour Hoffman at his best. Directed by Sidney Lumet, who also did Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, etc.

[michael white]

What happened in the motel room when the Sheriff goes into it? Why doesn't he actually encounter Chigurh, whom we've seen images of inside? I was very confused (and very tense) during the scene.

.

I think you were supposed to be tense and confused, as the Sheriff would've been. My take on it is that here is where he realizes he's over his head, and here is his one reprieve . . . There won't be another. He's a day late, a dollar short, out of his league, and this is the moment, the intersection between himself and the killer, when that becomes clear to him--when he figures out that the killer was hiding in that room with him and he didn't even know it.

I look forward to Gone Baby Gone as well as Before the Devil someday . . . This is a rather limited market, and I'm not sure those films have even been here.

[mosca]

>snipped<The nearly final scene, with the Kelly MacDonald character refusing to accept the coin toss, really drove this home in a brilliant way, I thought.I agree, great scene. A comment on the random nature of Evil vs. the ordered nature of Good, perhaps? Although the rest of the film might suggest the opposite...

[wtex]

As SoCal noted, both No Country and There will be Blood filmed in Marfa.

West Texas represent! (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/movies/27join.html?scp=3&sq=marfa&st=nyt)

[andy mac]

No Country is one of the few recent films that has stayed with my two brain cells for longer than a day.

i'd much rather see a *** movie than the typical F'd movie.

Life ain't neat.

Haircut haunts me.


:beer:

[Too Tall]

Eddie, go see "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

Exact opposite of "No Country."

I enjoyed both.

Persepolis - Sometimes a cartoon is better than the book.

[Onno]

I think you were supposed to be tense and confused, as the Sheriff would've been. My take on it is that here is where he realizes he's over his head, and here is his one reprieve . . . There won't be another. He's a day late, a dollar short, out of his league, and this is the moment, the intersection between himself and the killer, when that becomes clear to him--when he figures out that the killer was hiding in that room with him and he didn't even know it.

I agree with this, but my confusion is about there isn't actually a confrontation. We see both characters at the same time, presumably, one behind a door and the other outside it. The Sheriff enters and finds the room empty. Where's Chigurh? If he's in the other room, it would have been good, perhaps, for that to have been clearer afterwards.

[gomez308]

I think you were supposed to be tense and confused, as the Sheriff would've been. My take on it is that here is where he realizes he's over his head, and here is his one reprieve . . . There won't be another. He's a day late, a dollar short, out of his league, and this is the moment, the intersection between himself and the killer, when that becomes clear to him--when he figures out that the killer was hiding in that room with him and he didn't even know it.

I look forward to Gone Baby Gone as well as Before the Devil someday . . . This is a rather limited market, and I'm not sure those films have even been here.


Thats what I thought also. Sheriff knew he was close to death, but didn't know exactly from where. He could look for it and get killed or just back out of the room and live another day.

[Onno]

Thats what I thought also. Sheriff knew he was close to death, but didn't know exactly from where. He could look for it and get killed or just back out of the room and live another day.

I think thematically this is right, but in terms of plot, it seems to me that Chigurh is not in fact in the room. Where could he be? If he were in the room, wouldn't he simply have shot the sheriff (like the song)? It would have made sense for the sheriff to check the other room, perhaps, and that he doesn't is the sign that he's not going to continue the chase. On the other hand, he does go into the room and look around it, and act of utter courage since he's essentially a sitting duck.

Amazing image, in that scene, of the sheriff in the open door, back-lit, looking a little like a western hero, but actually utterly vulnerable. I was sure he was dead.

[michael white]

If he were in the room, wouldn't he simply have shot the sheriff .

yes: if he perceived him as a threat. That's the point.

[mosca]

yes: if he perceived him as a threat. That's the point.Or maybe he won he coin toss. :D

[Onno]

yes: if he perceived him as a threat. That's the point.

I'm not sure about this. First, we don't actually see Chigurh in the room once the sheriff enters. He's really not there, so far as I could tell. The door is wide open, up against the wall. No room there for the big guy. Second, Chigurh does not need to see someone as a threat to kill him (or her). They just need to be in the way. A man coming into the room with a gun seems like a threat, even if he's very frightened, and gives up at that point. That's why I assumed he'd kill him if he were actually there.

Sorry, I don't mean to make this an argument. It's just that this one moment in the film seemed especially strange to me, and I'm still puzzling over it; it didn't seem to have the tight logic of the rest of the film.

[cloudguy]

Sorry, I don't mean to make this an argument. It's just that this one moment in the film seemed especially strange to me, and I'm still puzzling over it; it didn't seem to have the tight logic of the rest of the film.


Yeah, it was strange. At the end of the scene, I remember the sheriff looking at the open air-conditioning shaft, and I thought: did the bad guy climb in there or something? The only other option left would be that the bad guy was hiding under the bed (which the sheriff ended up sitting on). So maybe the sheriff figured he was too late, while the bad guy didn't have his air gun?

But on this same note, what did the sheriff mean in his opening monologue when he said that he feared chasing the bad dude would bring "hazzard to his soul?"

[michael white]

Chigurh came to look in the shaft, as I saw it; that was his reason for being there. He wasn't hiding there himself. He's pretty logical, and he learned from his experience at the other room. The sheriff was not in his way. He didn't need to kill him, or he would have very easily, as the sheriff surmises a moment later--just as Chigurh easily dispatched the deputy in the beginning who one second earlier believed everything was under control. No one is in control; that's the moral lesson of the film. The sheriff basically wasn't a problem for him. Chigurh hides in the shadows; there are places to hide if you want to hide. I'd have to see it again to parse it out much more clearly than that, but it's a narrative that I trusted instinctively, and that's all that matters in art.

[Onno]

I have to see it again too. In the meantime, I'm sticking to the other room theory--that Chigurh is behind door #2, rather than door #1. (Two rooms are taped off when the sheriff arrives.) It makes sense that Chigurh would search both of them for the money, and be caught behind the doors of one of them when the sheriff comes to look.

[Chief]

Chigurh arrived at the motel room that Moss occupied before Moss got there. (This is later that night after Bell and the young girl were killed.) He blew the lock off the door, went in, unscrewed the air conditioning grille (he learned from the previous episode that Moss hid the money in the air conditioning duct), retrived the bag of money and went to his truck just as Bell was pulling into the parking lot. Bell entered the room, saw the grille on the table, then saw the brass lock on the floor and he knew immediately the Chigurh had already been there. When Bell left the parking lot and was outsight, Chigurh took off just before all the squad cars arrived. He had alluded the trap the Bell had set. Chigurh and Bell were never in the room at the same time.

[cloudguy]

The sheriff was not in his way. He didn't need to kill him, or he would have very easily, as the sheriff surmises a moment later--just as Chigurh easily dispatched the deputy in the beginning who one second earlier believed everything was under control.

Then why did he off the crow on the bridge? That was pretty random...

[michael white]

bad hair day?

[Moveitfred]

And the other thing with that dog Chigurh is that it's not so easy to draw straight lines when you're shacking up with a trickster.

I think.