In A Minor Key | Zak From Downunder

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1980, Abandon All Hope, Beth Grant, Carter Burwell, Chase Movie, Coen Brothers, Cormac McCarthy, Crime, Crime Thriller, Drama, El Paso, Ethan and Joel Coen, Film, film review, Garret Dillahunt, In A Minor Key, iRate:: 4½ / 5, Javier Bardem, Joel and Ethan Coen, Josh Brolin, Modern Classic, Nail Biter, No Country for Old Men, Roger Deakins, Roger Ebert, Sunday Screening Session, Texas, Thriller, Tommy Lee Jones, USA, Woody Harrelson

Credits (Click to expand)

Trailer (HD):

iReview:
This week I decided to check out a movie I hadn’t seen before (unbelievably lame, I know), and also from this century: No Country For Old Men (2007). Universally praised and hailed as a filmmakers masterpiece, this movie also attracted an avalanche of awards. Joel and Ethan Coen share the record of four Oscar nominations for the same film with Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941) and Warren Beatty for Reds (1981). The Coens’ four nominations are for Best Picture (won as producers with Scott Rudin), Best Director (won), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), and Best Editing (under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes).

What Happens:
Acclaimed filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen deliver their most gripping and ambitious film yet in this sizzling and supercharged crime thriller.

When Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles on a bloody crime scene, a pickup truck loaded with heroin, and two million dollars in irresistible cash, his decision to take the money sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of violence and his pursuit by a nerveless psychopath, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Not even West Texas lawman, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), can contain it.

“This magnificent film represents the best work the Coen Brothers have done since Fargo. Like that movie classic, this is a cold-blooded thriller with a darkly humorous edge… Hitchcock wouldn’t have done the suspense better.”
(David Stratton, ABC Australia, At The Movies)

“No Country for Old Men is as good a film as the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, have ever made, and they made Fargo.”
(Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

Story (Click to expand)

While this is recognized as the Coen brothers darkest and most tense film, it is not lacking in their signature deadpan humour. I love the way they play with Cormac McCarthy’s language in this script (yes they directed, adapted and edited the whole thing). Here’s an exchange between Deputy Wendell (Garret Dillahunt) and Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones):
Wendell
“Well, it’s a mess, ain’t it, sheriff?”
Sheriff Bell
“If it ain’t, it’ll do till the mess gets here.”

McCarthy’s writing was clearly destined for the Coens’ delightful and mischievous adaptation. I can imagine the brothers glee as they saw these words; they and Cormac are kindred spirits.

The three main characters are all beautifully drawn: Vietnam vet. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), is an expert hunter who happens upon an unhappy scene with perhaps, happy consequence – a slew of bullet-strewn bodies, bullet-ridden trucks, a truckload of drugs and 2 million dollars in cash; Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), a very competent veteran lawman, the last in this family business, who seems slightly out of his time; and recovery guy, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), the unflinching psychopath who carves a murderous path across Texas with his gas bottle and cattle stun-gun.

Brolin is entirely believable as Moss, a man who might just be able to stay one step ahead of the unstoppable Chigurh (pronounced chugar). Tommy Lee Jones, as the slightly world weary Bell, acts his socks off in this. He utterly inhabits the role with exquisite timing and tone, and an understated delivery that tells you he’s at the top of his craft. He also wears the vernacular like a Texas native (oh, hang on a moment, he is). Bardem was born to play Chigurh and he does so with pitch perfect characterization. You just know that if you bumped into Javier on an L.A. street, you’d regret the experience; he’s that good. The three story-anchors are ably supported by Scottish actor, Kelly MacDonald, as Moss’ wife Carla, who had me completely fooled – of course she was a Texan; Woody Harrelson plays himself delivering us Carson Wells, who was sent to end the out of control murder spree and recover the money; and Beth Grant, who gives us a short but memorable turn as Carla’s abrasive mother.

From the stunning red sky silhouette that stamps Roger Deakins’ entry into the film, you know there’s some wonderful photography ahead and he doesn’t disappoint. In much the same way as cinematographer, Tom Stern has become the right hand of director, Clint Eastwood, Deakins has come to exemplify the Coen brothers films. His framing is very precise and in almost all ways, I couldn’t imagine it done better. You only need to watch the featurette: The Making of No Country for Old Men (see extras), to see the contrast between the behind-the-scenes footage, and the finished shots.

The music from Carter Burwell, another staple of the Coen universe, is unobtrusive but appropriate, leaving space for the sound of the wind to weave its magic throughout the film.

I’ve left the best for last… The work of the brothers as directors, writers and editors is near faultless. None of the plot seems forced or contrived, even though the effect of the whole is completely quirky (as you’d expect from a Coen film). The stories of the three central intertwining characters rarely fully intersect yet they are told in such a way that you’re never left wondering. The dialogue is fluid and deliberate without anything superfluous or corny. The tension built by the direction and editing is perfectly fit for purpose with so many near misses and moments of possible discovery which keep us on the edge of the seat. The hotel/motel scenes where Moss and Chigurh never meet, are exercises in pure dread. Add to that, the device of the coin toss which creates another layer of delicious tension. And, like a cat toying with its prey, the Coen brothers leave us guessing which way the coin fell, the final time, until we see Chigurh check the soles of his boots on the path out front.

The luxury of having almost complete control of the film making process is a creative advantage few directors are afforded. Even fewer filmmakers, I suspect, would be able to handle these multiple disciplines with as much finesse as the Coens. Steven Soderbergh has often photographed (as Peter Andrews) and edited (as Mary Ann Bernard) the films he’s directed, with excellent results. However, I wouldn’t rate him quite in the same class as Joel and Ethan Coen. Here, the Coens have employed their extra limb (Deakins) on camera while they have control of every other major aspect of the look of the film. The combination of their shooting script, their dialogue, their direction and their precision editing, is a rhythm that is almost musical. I became conscious of this as I mused over their many cuts and cutaways and realized they were part of a dance which also included the delivery of the dialogue. It’s very clever and something only really achievable if you control the whole shebang as they did.

This would have been an impressive genre movie even if it had a conventional conclusion. But the ending that presents itself here, was so satisfying and original that I found myself laughing completely inappropriately. If you’re one of the other three people who haven’t yet seen this movie then I’m not going to spoil it by telling you.

The Academy got it completely right in awarding the filmmakers their Oscars for this movie; as a lesson in film making it is peerless.

As a critic, Roger Ebert, regularly placed himself in the seat of a genre fan, so he would not necessarily grade on an absolute scale (according to his taste) but rather gave a relative score. Thus on Ebert’s scale, if Superman (1978) scores 4 within the superhero genre, then Hellboy (2004) gets a pretty good 3 (even though Ebert really disliked the film) and The Punisher (2004) only a 2. If I were putting myself in someone else’s seat then, like Ebert (who scored this a 4/4), I’d have to give this 5/5. But, because I want to keep a perfect 5/5 for rare movies that completely blow me away, I am awarding this a 4½ / 5. Jeez, after an explanation like that, it might have been easier just to go the 5.

The Picture:
As you would hope, with a movie of this recent vintage, the screen image is superb. Every craggy wrinkle line, every speck of blood (and there’s a lot of that) and every bullet hole crack in the glass of Moss’ truck, is displayed in brilliant detail. The colours are rich and true and the image, clean with no visible noise.

The Audio:
I wish I’d had the foresight to have bought the Collector’s Edition with its possibly superior DTS 5.1 audio track. As it happens, this Blu-ray LPCM 5.1 sound track is more than adequate. As well, as this isn’t an action flick, the quality of audio reproduction isn’t quite as critical. There were times when the balance between speakers fell short of ideal. For example, occasionally, the right front and left surround channels dominated, leaving the left front unbalanced and slightly out of the mix. Apart from these occasional anomalies, though, the audio field sounded fine.

Verdict:
I’m embarrassed that it has taken me this long to see this movie, especially as I’ve had it in the library for some time. In a way though, I’m glad I waited because I think I can now appreciate the virtuosity of its construction a lot more than I would have only a few years ago. It’s a filmmakers tour de force and a film I’ll likely learn more from with each viewing.

iRate:: 4½ out of 5.

4Movie Tragics

Extras:
• The Making of No Country for Old Men (as well as the usual filmmaker discussion about inspiration and script development, there’s some interesting behind-the-scenes action from the set… an interesting featurette) – 24min.
• Working with the Coens (this is pretty much a PR gushfest) – 8min;
• Diary of a Country Sheriff (this character featurette looks at Sheriff Bell from a number of angles and compares him with Chigurh… enjoyable without being essential) – 7min;

You want More!
No Country For Old Men – IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
No Country For Old Men – Rotten Tomatoes
No Country For Old Men – allmovie.com
No Country For Old Men – Wikipedia

Is this the best movie by the Coen brothers or does Fargo still top the list?
Have I got it completely wrong and has Stephen Hunter got it right in his Washington Post review, when he abruptly states, “I just don’t like it very much”?

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Zak From Downunder

~ Zak de Courcy's sometimes incendiary thoughts about politics, life and religion.

Tag Archives: In A Minor Key

The Sunday Screening Session….. No Country For Old Men (2007)