No Country For Old Men

(This review was written as an assignment for my highschool AP Literature & Composition class)

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

A Masterclass in Building Tension

Based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, this neo-Western crime thriller is unmatched when it comes to the creation of tension. The film has three protagonists: Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), the civilian who finds $2 million in stolen drug money and is hellbent on keeping for himself; Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), the psychopathic hitman hired to kill Llewelyn; and Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), an aging sheriff who wants to find Llewelyn and the money.

The film essentially lacks a soundtrack, letting the silence sit heavy to create a sense of discomfort in the audience rather than allowing spine chilling instrumentals to play that role. The usage of silence and natural sound in place of a score also sets the film apart from being characterized as strictly a Western or strictly as a thriller, two genres which are both distinguished by very specific types of music. By not having a soundtrack, the film achieves two of its primary goals: setting itself apart from any type of story we are used to seeing on screen and creating a supremely uncomfortable environment that has the audience on the edge of their seats for the entire 2+ hour runtime.

By not having a soundtrack, silence builds tension rather than the score, thus drawing attention to acting choices as well as the stylization of the environment, such as lighting and set design, and how these commonly overlooked aspects contribute to the increase of tension felt in nearly every scene. Conversations between characters are calm, the acting is subtle rather than over the top and blatantly dramatic, making the conveyed emotions even more impactful. Every frame is beautifully constructed, from the wide shots of the barren Texas landscape to the simplistic silhouette of protagonist Llewelyn Moss and his gun as he waits alone in an apartment.

No Country unapologetically takes its time. The slow pacing is reminiscent of that of Power of the Dog, and at times threatens to be just as boring, yet this danger is avoided when the slow pace is interrupted by bursts of violence. The bloodshed never feels as if it exists purely for shock value, but always has a purpose, whether it be fleshing out character traits or advancing the narrative. The acts of violence are usually performed by Chigurh, who truly is the star of the show. Bardem's performance is marvelous, and those of the other two leads pale in comparison.

(A little aside: the undoubtedly worst violence is when Llewelyn shoots a dog. Worst part of the movie. Filmmakers, kill all the people you want on screen, but don’t fucking touch the animals.)

No Country For Complex Women

What would have made this already amazing film even more of a masterpiece was having morally gray characters rather than the stark good guy vs bad guy narrative we were given. (Give me a Thomas Barrow over an Anna any day)

The film lacks diversity, straightup. All three of the main characters are men, two of whom are explicitly straight. The only women who play important roles in the story are those whose primary significance in the plot is derived from their being wife and mother rather than actual people with complexity of their own. Carla Jean, Llewelyn's wife, is annoying as hell. Thankfully, her mother is a salty icon and I am here for it. All the other women are merely side characters with no real depth. I don't really need to explain why this is a problem, do I?

Infamous Endings

One of my first encounters of the film, aside from the numerous times throughout the year my English teacher has recommended it, was a post on Twitter that read something along the lines of 'don’t you love those movies that have no moral lesson, it’s just 'wouldn’t it be fucked up if this happened''. The first comment read ‘no country for old men’. Having read that, I shouldn't have been surprised, much less dissapointed, in the ending. But I was.

The film leaves you feeling as if nothing you just witnessed had any purpose. Yes, I realize that the ending is purposely unsatisfying in the name of being 'realistic' or 'different' or 'edgy' or whatever, but in all honesty, it just leaves you feeling pissed off. I'm not the kind of person to let a bad ending ruin a great prior experience (yes, I DO still talk about Game of Thrones. Dany, you'll always be my queen), so I will recommend No Country For Old Men, but I will always preface that recommendation with 'expect to enjoy the journey, expect to be frustrated by the ending.'