Rating of
4/4
Guess who shouldn't have won Best Picture!
memento_mori - wrote on 09/02/13
Yes, by the title you may take away I didn't like No Country For Old Men. While it certainly didn't deserve its Oscars, and the status it holds now, there are aspects I enjoy of it.
The way the film's script unfolds is just pure genius. It seems more like an observation of a story than a story. Almost everything has already happened by the time Sheriff Bell studies the situations, and when we are in the shootings and events, the Coens have me at the edge of my seat.
What I think are two of the most important shots in the entire movie are the reflections of Anton and Sheriff Bell in the television at Llewellyn's trailer. During the shot, the Sheriff adds: 'He's (Llewellyn) certainly seen all the things I've seen and it's made an impression on him.'
That is an excellent line.
It makes me question whether Anton even exists at all, because out of the Sheriff's eyes anyone could be sitting there staring at their own reflection in the TV. They're excellent characters and were obviously very precisely written.
The script is just filled with little perks all around like that.
And now, the problem.
People have mentioned it a thousand times before, and I will, too: The ending.
The Coens really needed to put some more effort into the ending. The whole last hour should have been re-written. I don't care how, the ending they gave us was, in my opinion, a complete misfire.
The suspense from the first half was not present in the ending. Characters were seemingly oblivious to everything the evidence was pointing to, and the Sheriff made decisions he didn't need to. It just felt very messy, like a quick conclusion to a long story. It's enough to take me out of the atmosphere and put me in a different one.
While, yes, overrated, No Country For Old Men is a great example of suspense and crime. The film has surprising replay value in my book. It's got a lot to say about our society as it grows inexplicably with violence and embodiments of evil.
It has the excellent characters, ambient script and great scenery and locations, which make it work so well under the direction of two of my favorites.
