Top 15 of the 2000s: #2

No more explanations, no more "oops-I-did-it-again" sentences about how I keep delaying. I'm getting this countdown done this week, and that's final. Here's #2...





#2 "No Country for Old Men" (2007) by Joel and Ethan Coen: There have already been quite a few films from 2007 on this list, but none of them, amazing though they were, come close to scratching the immense brilliance of the Coen brothers' quadruple Oscar winner. Gorgeously adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, "No Country" showcases the Coens at the height of their cinematic powers. The emptiness of McCarthy's world is beautifully conveyed thanks to focus almost entirely on primary characters (down with the extras!) and Roger Deakins' beautifully bare opening shots of the Texas prairie combined with Tommy Lee Jones superbly restrained narration. Such an opening is eerily reminiscent of the first frames of their debut, "Blood Simple" (1984); it's a beautiful homage as well as a symbol as to how far this powerhouse directing duo has come without losing their identities. But emptiness is not all that is impressive. One thing I admire immensely about McCarthy's prose is his ability to switch from simple, "plain" dialogue to careful back-and-forth exchanges that keep you on the edge of your seat. The Coens and crew don't dissappoint here, and the fact that there are actors (damn good actors, too) saying these incredible words is enough to make me think that this is one adaptation that's as good or better than the book. Case in point: the instant-classic gas station scene, in which psycho hit-man Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem, in a chilling Oscar-winning turn) engages in a bizarre analysis of a humble store clerk. The whole interaction between both men builds beautifully, with the Coens ratcheting up the tension at a slow but effective pace. The fact that its end is so mystifying and even lightly humorous only adds to the overall effect and to Chigurh's mystique. But Bardem isn't alone as far as great performances go. Josh Brolin, often overlooked, certainly gives the least powerful performance in the film, but to totally dismiss it seems wrong. As the closest thing to a hero, Brolin makes Llewellyn a someone worth caring about, albeit from a distance. Kelly Macdonald and Garrett Dillahunt have their own small moments as Llewellyn's wife and Sheriff Bell's deputy respectively, as does Woody Harrellson as a mysterious man trying to hunt down Llewellyn's cash-filled suitcase. But the real stand-out, aside from Bardem, is Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Bell. He changes expression little, but there's a beautifully restrained gravity in his delivery as posture that is quite effective, especially in the divisive final minutes of the film. But ultimately, the performance that gets everyone talking is Bardem, and it's understandable. Everything from the menacing stares to the bizarro page-boy haircut seems instantly iconic, and Bardem's chilly delivery and occasionally wicked facial expressions are brilliant to experience. The New York Times' A.O. Scott put it best when he wrote, "...At its center is a figure of evil so calm, so extreme, so implacable that to hear his voice is to feel the temperature in the theater drop". As for the Coens themselves? As both directors and editors (Roderick Jaynes is the Coen's editing pseudonym), they're at the top of their game. The tension, the quietness, the pacing, and most of all their beautiful understanding of McCarthy's prose are just incredible. In many movies it can be frustrating when a film seems to either forget to tell us everything, or does so on purpose. But the Coens understand that no everything needs to be explained. When Woody Harrelson tells Brolin's Llewellyn, "you don't understand" it's a message: Llewellyn is in WAY over his head, and since he is our protagonist for most of the film, its appropriate that the audience not fully understand everything either. But what about the ending? Easily the most controversial aspect of "No Country", I was never someone who hated the film's ending. Mystifying and surprising? Certainly. But "pointless" or "stupid"? Not so fast. "No Country for Old Men" is an extremely layered film and with each viewing I pick up something new, some new detail, or some new subtlety in an actor's inflection. As for the ending, I won't rant about my theories about "what it all means", but I will say that it all begins and ends with the title of the film. It's a beautifully thematic puzzle to the best film of 2007, and my second favorite film of the decade. It is a masterwork in every sense of the word, and deserves to take its place as one of the Academy's most inspired picks for Best Picture in a long while.

Final Grade: A+

Best Performance: Javier Bardem

Best Scene: apologies about the video quality