Review: No Country for Old Men (2007)

First things first, i'm going to keep this review short (though i probably won't succeed). I'm keeping it short (or so i say), because to truly explain this film and appreciate it, one must see it in the theaters. You should spend less time reading this post and more time driving to the nearest movie theater. That means you!



Never in my movie going experience have I come across a film like this. What starts off with a simple plot (and remains simple throughout) ends up as the most complex and compelling film of the year. Maybe even the decade. Based of Cormac McCarthy's (one of this century's greatest authors) book, it perfectly adapts the mood, depth and intensity that the author aimed for. This is all thanks to the master duo that the Coen Brothers. They Coens have strayed from their bloody roots in cinema recently with films like Ladykillers and O' Brother Where Art Thou? (both comedies with a few dark undertones), but this film is more than a return to form. Mixing bits of deviously black humor, and lot's of violence, this film can easily be called their masterpiece.



Some might think the film is merely a "chase" movie, where the protagonist is on the run from a powerful bad guy, probably involving drugs, money, carnage and alcohol. Well, on paper, that's exactly what NCFOM is. But, the intensely deep characters, all filled with flaws and doubt, bring the film to an entirely different level; a level only a few of cinema's greats have ever reached with their films. What lies beyond the surface is an epic pondering on the fragility of life, and how the universe ultimately works. This is perpetuated by the villain's soon-to-be-famous coin tossings, wherein the fate of many characters is decided by luck and sheer fate. Everything about the movie becomes interpretation by the audience, especially in the closing scene of the movie. Be warned, you might feel different coming out of the theater than going in. It provides no answers about fate and destiny, whether there is rhyme or reason in the universe, whether god guides chance, or something more malicious and threatening...it only gives you more questions.