"In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart. - --IMDB user Kenneth Chisholm
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Written and directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Starring: Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin
Awards (114 won; 51 nominated)
No Country For Old Men (2007) is a neo-western film directed by revered directorial duo the Coen Brothers or Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows the efforts of Josh Brolin's Llewellyn Moss, a hunter who accidentally stumbles upon the remains of a drug deal gone wrong , and over 2 million dollars. he is soon pursued by the emotionless psychopath Anton Chigurh, played with terrifying poise by Javier Bardem. Now fighting for his life, Moss must use everything at his disposal to escape with the money, and his life.The film was based upon the novel of the same name by Pulitzer prize winner Cormac McCarthy and made the mainstream career of Javier Bardem (who went on to co-star in James Bond: Skyfall).
The film evokes many of the classic conventions of the western genre, from the vast featureless deserts to the virtuous law-man, but is set in a more contemporary setting of the year 1980, leading it to be referred to by many as a "Neo-Western". Besides the obvious things such as the western american setting, many more subtle elements of the film play up to typical conventions of the genre, for example, the pursuit element, central to the plot, calls back to the classic revenge western, and the Thriller genre that the film also draws from, as well as classic western archetypes the relationship between the old, experienced county sheriff and the young, naive rookie cop.
The film also follows many of the conventions of thriller films, the main character unwittingly finds himself in grave danger being pursued by a mysterious stranger, a law-man desperately tries stop the carnage, and a huge amount of tension can be felt. Not many films create tension as well as No Country For Old Men, a quality in part greatly influenced by the unusual decision to scrap soundtrack entirely for the duration of the film, leaving just diagetic sound for the audience, in addition to the wide open spaces where a large degree of the action takes place. The decision to eschew typical claustrophobic locations as well as soundtrack means that the film has a lonely, empty feel as well as giving the impression of the moral vacuum of the characters and the feeling of having nowhere to hide.
The sounds related to violence are amped up greatly, where as the other sounds are muted, notice how the sounds of the car's engine are reduced but the sounds of the the bullets deflecting are greatly increased. the effect of this is to make the violence seem more intense but also to show the ennui and emptiness of the characters, who are only fazed by danger to their own lives. It is a perfect example of less is more.
The film was clearly highly regarded by most (it had to be to win 114 awards) and reviews of it, which show universal acclaim, were supportive of this notion. positive reviews credited it for its nail-biting tension, stunning cinematography and powerful central performances. The review by seminal movie critic Roger Ebert in particular applauded it on its epic narrative themes and the character Chigurh a man who "is so evil, he is almost funny sometimes". He also mentioned the opening monologue, stating his anticipation to "listen to the stretch of narrative several times" based on the emotional delivery of Tommy Lee Jones. Some have been critical of the somewhat anti-climatic ending, feeling the vast amounts of amassed tension the film had so carefully built up was disappointingly let off, but that is but a small blotch on an otherwise near flawless thriller, the finest Coen brothers film to date since "The Big Lebowski". But if you dont agree then, that's like, your opinion, man.
You commentary is articulate, focused and interesting. The clip you have posted is an example of a director developing generic conventions. To strengthen I suggest you add to this post by analysing generic aspects of mise-en-scene to include inter textual references. For example the shots at the beginning in the motel bedroom strongly reference the opening shots of Once Upon a Time in America with regard to the use of chiaroscuro lighting, the positioning of the lamp (the source of light) and a claustrophobic space.
ReplyDeleteAlso the use of a vast trackless space without boundaries can be compared to the use of the Essex Marshes in "Essex Boys" - this reinforces the predatory nature of both bad guys!!!!
I'm pleased you have commented on the sound. You need to explain why the director uses only diegetic sound and how this increases tension.
If you do the above this will raise your grade considerably.