"No Country For Old Men" movie review

With the continued release of uninspired movies at the Cineplex, we continue with our look at Oscar hopefuls. This week is the latest project from Joel and Ethan Cohen, No Country for Old Men (R). Josh Brolin plays an ordinary guy who gets mixed up with Mexican drug dealers and ends up being hunted by a hitman (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones plays the rural Texas county sheriff who is investigating the case.

Ryan: No Country For Old Men is a really good film. Honestly I found the first two-thirds of the movie great. I'll speak more on that later but want to state that this is the best Coen Brothers' film since O Brother, Where Art Thou? No Country For Old Men is a wonderfully shot movie with precise direction and superb performances. Like the Coen Brothers' best work its a movie where there is so much more going on than what is being presented on the surface. For that reason it's a film that will require multiple viewings to fully grasp what is going on in the story.

Andy: If nothing else, this movie shows that the Coen Brothers are back. I might argue that much under-appreciated The Man Who Wasn't There might be better than this film, but the point is that the Coen's last two movies (Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers) were sub par. Many filmmakers tend to get to a point where there relevancy wanes, and it looked like the Coens had arrived there. No Country For Old Men shows that they are still capable of making an outstanding, interesting, and at times, amusing film.

Ryan: The final act of No Country For Old Men prevented it from being a truly remarkable picture. I'm not saying that the final act is a letdown or that it doesn't fit what the movie is saying. In fact thematically the end of the film does make sense. But from a storytelling stand point the end of the movie left me unfulfilled. The movie's plot moves along where one is expecting the three main characters path's to intersect. That doesn't (necessarily) happen. In fact one could argue that the movie's focus takes a dramatic shift during (and after) the climax. Ultimately I found the shift more perplexing than anything else. Like I said before, another viewing of the film might be required to fully see what the Coen Brothers were trying to express.

Andy: There is no question that the end of the movie will prove problematic for many viewers. Just as you are starting to figure out what is happening in this new segment of the movie, it abruptly ends. While I understand Ryan's arguments about it being an unsettling (unneeded, even?) conclusion to the narrative, I must confess that I've been thinking about the ending off and on since I watched the movie. It seems to make some sense after some careful analysis that I'm unable (and unwilling) to articulate here. Ultimately, however, if a movie can keep me thinking about it after I leave the theatre, that's a good thing.

Ryan: Like all great directors, the Coen Brothers have that innate ability to bring forth strong performances from their actors. No Country For Old Men is no exception. Tommy Lee Jones, who hasn't starred in a relevant movie in years, puts forth one of his best performances of his career. Javier Bardem, known more for his international work, gives a haunting performance as the film's antagonist. Not as well knows is Josh Brolin but he more than holds his own with the respected cast. I'm not predicting that any one of those performances will get nominated for an Oscar but they are Oscar-worthy.

Andy: The performances in this movie are very solid across the board. Leading the pack is certainly Tommy Lee Jones. I actually think the last couple of years have been pretty good for Jones, with his turn in A Prairie Home Companion being pretty good, and his leading role in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estradas showing great promise. Tellingly, his character here is like an extension of his performance in Burials, only with a little more nuance and a haggard humor that is priceless. Bardem was predictably great, but the real surprise is the largely marginal Josh Brolin playing the lead role of this film with great precision.

No Country For Old Men combines several elements of what makes movies great. It's intriguing, captivating, thought-provoking, and perhaps most importantly, it gives us back some of our greatest American filmmakers. The last 30 minutes or so is a bit puzzling, but generally this is a sharp picture. Final grade: B+.