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Directed by the Coen brothers
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
The Coen brothers’ 2007 neo-Western masterpiece ‘No Country for Old Men’ has been rightfully catapulted into classic status since its release for its unique structuring and incredible screenwriting. The Coen brothers constantly elude expectations for a film about a drug deal gone awry. Whereas typical action films would introduce the movie with the flashy drug deal, No Country for Old Men follows how innocent Llewelyn Moss gets reeled into this predicament. Its atypical structuring and unpredictable plot beats, particularly in the final act where the heroic main character gets killed off-screen, the antagonist presumably gets away with his deeds, and the film ending on a quiet, vague yet contemplative monologue, set the picture apart from its contemporaries.
This unconventional approach to genre tropes fits No Country for Old Men’s omnipresent futility. One can’t help but feel hopeless when fighting (or escaping) from the embodiment of fate that is Anton Chigurh. His quirk is the coin toss, allowing potential victims a chance to escape death if they call it right. It’s a clever metaphor for death being entirely random. Not just Llewelyn (Josh Brolin), who actively tempts it by stealing the money, but also the gas station owner and even the bird unknowingly meet eye-to-eye with this grim reaper, although the latter two get to live another day.
Anton Chigurh, played by a stunning Javier Bardem, is frightening because of his commitment to fate and his principles. Chigurh fully accepts the brutal injuries he suffers from a car accident and improvises how to make the best of his situation. The ending remains consistent with the rest we see of the scheming Chigurh, who never relinquishes control of any situation.
The brilliance of the entire cast of No Country for Old Men extends beyond its narrative writing. Chigurh’s calculating efforts aren’t verbally explained, but conveyed through visual storytelling. The scene where Chigurh makes a car explode and then steals painkillers from a pharmacy amidst all the chaos contains zero words of direct dialogue.
However, Bardem isn’t the sole outstanding performer here. Tommy Lee Jones is stellar with several dialogue scenes where he subtly conveys a wide range of emotion. Although an anxious cop on the brink of retirement could lead to overacting, Jones feels remarkably human. I have to honorably mention side-characters Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald as well, each of them having defining scenes within a little amount of screentime.
The Coen brothers maximize the potential of each actor by crafting such coherent scenes. Although No Country for Old Men does contain lots of well-written dialogue, the respect the directors have for the viewers intelligence is commendable. For instance, the motel scene uses lots of auditory cues such as footsteps and the tracking device’s beeping. The haunting lack of music builds up the scene slowly, until it erupts into a tense gunfight. Such a scene is paralleled later, when Ed Tom investigates the house Llewelyn gets murdered in. There’s a similar tense, scoreless build-up as Ed Tom imagines Chigurh’s presence in the motel room, but it does not climax into explosions. Ed Tom, feeling outmatched by evil, retires after facing his deepest fears.
The perfect editing and cutting of scenes and shot composition fully convey critical information. The Coens’ canvas is often so richly painted it allows them to supersede dialogue entirely, which in turn grants the talented cast the opportunity to act at their peaks. No Country for Old Men was eye-opening for me; watching it makes me feel like I understand the beauty of cinema, even if the films aesthetic isn’t typically pleasing.
As displayed above, parallels are a recurring way for No Country for Old Men to show its wit. Both Chigurh and Ed Tom take their place in Llewelyn’s seat, showing us their fates have converged. The former is sharp and methodical in his posture, causing a sense of unease, whereas the latter slumps, takes a sip of the milk, and just relaxes. By blurring the reflection it feels comforting. These postures tell us a lot about the personalities of these characters, but also their relationship to Llewelyn.
No Country for Old Men is in large part a film about the hunter becoming the hunted, and sets an interesting parallel with Chigurh murdering a man on the road, and Llewelyn failing to fatally injure a deer. It showcases Chigurh’s prowess and foreshadows Llewelyn’s inevitable misfortune as he fails to murder his prey, again. Llewelyn’s first actions are literally of him failing, which turns out to be a key character aspect. Good screenwriting characterizes swiftly, often through non-verbal actions, and the first ten minutes excel in doing so.
But what makes me adore the Coens is their masterful shot composition, exploiting every inch of the frame they have for a purposeful and aesthetically pleasing canvas. Their wide lenses are their greatest strength. This, paired with their slow cinematography, let the Coens forsake unnecessary camera movement. Every shot they paint includes some environment to either establish or re-contextualize their respective scenes. They bring their films alive that way.
In a complete juxtaposition with the rest of the claustrophobic, dark, desolate film: here the bright daylight warmly coats the screen, whereas the background mountains and buildings give us a size comparison. The shot is expansive and optimistic, and it culminates in an overwhelming sense of freedom and maybe even a bit of hope. Perhaps our hero, after his epic speech, will return home unscathed after triumphing over the villain!
But he doesn’t. After all, it’s No Country for Old Men, and the film introduces (and thus foreshadows) this character with his failure.
Aside from encapsulating practically the entire film within five minutes, the gas station scene highlights a key Coen brothers strength in making the most of their environment. By littering the setting with trinkets, the place feels real and ‘alive’. By placing the actor here, he too feels more real and alive, making us sympathize with him and giving purpose and tension to its respective scene.
But also, it’s simply admirable to wonder how much effort went into designing and defining the living spaces of each of these characters. It brings entire scenes and characters, otherwise just concepts, alive. No Country for Old Men is much more convincing for it.
My favorite bit of visual storytelling in No Country for Old Men comes at its very end, when Carla Jean meets her end.
Although omitted from the embedded video, the preceding shot is of Carla Jean being at her mother’s funeral, establishing that Carla Jean is the key actress of the scene, so the viewer has an understanding that it’s her when the next shot is of a car entering the driveway. Then we get another establishing shot of her mom’s living room, with Carla Jean herself entering the frame shortly after. The next cut of is of the morose Carla Jean who had been looking at the ground all the time shifting her view up, to see air breeze through the open window, with the implication that Chigurh entered the house. This is confirmed by the next cut where Carla Jean opens the door and sees a menacing Chigurh before she meets her end.
No Country for Old Men deservedly etched itself in film history with Oscar wins for best motion picture and directors as a palpable celebration of the medium. The Coen’s masterful visual storytelling and direction amplify each actor’s skills. Whether it is Tommy Lee Jones’ difficult expressions, Javier Bardem’s off-script choke on a cashew nut, or Woody Harrelson’s anxious flinch at a loud phone interrupting his futile bluff — each scene is essential and a triumphant display of cinema expertise.
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