No Country for Old Men - REVIEW

Well, I think I've found my "Pan's Labyrinth" of the year!! My #1 most anticipated film from a few posts back has become my #1 film of the year and stands a good chance of staying there (or at least in the top 5). I have no shame about declaring No Country for Old Men the best film of the year, and also one of the best of the decade. The story, set in West Texas, begins with a lone man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), finding a host of empty trucks, bloody corpses, and most importantly, and satchel full of money. For the next two hours, we get to watch as he is pursued by forces good (Tommy Lee Jones' Sherriff), ambiguous (Woody Harrelson) and evil (Javier Bardem). And when I say evil, I mean EVIL. Javier Bardem in the role of Mexican pyscho Anton Chigurh is AMAZING. His first scene involves him escaping arrest. He manages to bring his handcuffed hands infront of him so he can use the binding chain to strangle the poor cop who takes him to jail. This could have been enough, but then the camera cuts from the struggling feet to Chigurh's face, which suggests that he is having an exhilarating, almost sexual experience. He then leaves, grabs his air tank and pressure "thingy" (which he uses to blow holes in people's heads). He eventually comes to know that the money is missing; let the chase begin. And if there's one thing directors Joel and Ethan Coen are good at, it's pacing. In "Fargo" set in the cold north, they slowed things down. Now that we're in sunblasted West Texas the speed increases and the film's editing, like that of Pan's Labyrinth, isn't necessarily the fastest out there, but it's perfect. No scene goes too long and everything moves at the right pace. It's not necessarily an action movie, but it's the closest the Coens have ever come to anything like that. The film is also helped by fantastic dialogue, brilliantly adapted from Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel (also by the Coens) and parts are surprisingly funny. Josh Brolin is solid as the central character, but he's more of a device around which the plot happens. The film is also effective in that it's entertainment. Tommy Lee Jones is very good here (though not as good as his tremedous work in "In the Valley of Elah") but it's Bardem who runs away with the whole damn show. Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald has several brief scenes as Brolin's wife, and does an amazing job of covering up her native accent with a Texan drawl. Everyone works together beautifully and the film is gripping from start to finish. Though there may some mild philosophical discussions throughout the film, the movie tells a story, and doesn't have some important social issue to address or shove down our throats. It's an Oscar caliber film, that's completely fictional. Wow, isn't that refreshing?

**Also interesting to note is that there is no background music in the entire film. There is some quiet music played over the credits by Carter Burwell (who composed the the score for 06's "Fur" and deserved to WIN), but that's it.

Grade: A (leaning towards A+...we'll see...)

Current Nominations: Best Picture (#1 WINNER), Best Director - Joel and Ethan Coen (#1 WINNER), Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem (#1 WINNER), Best Adapted Screenplay (#1 WINNER), Best Editing (#1 WINNER), Best Sound (#2)