MikePadgett.com

No Country For Old Men

• Director: Joel Coen; Ethan Coen
• United States, 2007
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It’s probably fair to say that the Coen brothers had been off their game for a few years. Since 2000’s O Brother Where Art Thou, we’ve had to swallow a lukewarm homage to film noir and a couple of flaccid big studio pictures. With No Country, the brothers are back in town. Yet whilst some Coen trademarks are here in abundance (tight plotting, expansive landscapes) others are noticeably muted (black humour, rich dialogue).

The story is propelled by three characters who never meet until the ends of their respective arcs. When they do meet, there is no interplay. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is the central figure, a ne’er do well who happens on a disastrous drug deal and its cash bag. Tracking him is the sociopathic hitman Anton Chigurh who’s no longer focused on the hit. Trailing both is the bemused veteran Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) who, as our link to the protagonists, finds such ‘modern’ crimes unfathomable. Woody Harrelson also pops up in a small, scene-stealing role as another hitman dispatched to bring down Chigurh.

This latest effort from the Coens is vintage stuff. Rather than relying so heavily on script, the distinctive sharp taste comes from pure acting and Javier Bardem’s masterful, Oscar-worthy turn as Chigurh drives the film with a crackling, frightening energy. Like the ‘cattlegun’ with which he dispenses people and door locks, Chigurh’s violence is drastic, suddenly explosive yet always controlled. As a result, the always-vacant look in his eyes is something to be feared.