No Country for Turkey-dazed Old Men
Saw “No Country For Old Men” last night.
And I can’t honestly say how I feel about it.
In parts – the acting, dialogue, action sequences and the scenery – it was excellent.
Overall, I thought this movie was missing something; mostly because it tried to do too much, I think.
The Coen Brothers are masters at tying together complex story plots that contain equally complex characters – like the dude’s rug tied the room together in their oft-quoted film classic, “The Big Lebowski.” In the case of “No Country,” the plot, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, is simple, the characters are simple and their separate story lines are simple. It’s all pretty straightforward – the acting and action drive this movie.
But as you may or may not see, the Coens spend too much time drifting and not enough time explaining, like the Soprano’s. And in a few key scenes they leave too much for the imagination. They lack that punch they’ve delivered time and time again.
All-in-all, it’s definitely worth the price of admission, though. And I have a feeling that a second viewing might change my mind (I was dazed on turkey and up past my bedtime the first time around).
I look forward to getting the DVD as well (commentary and extras might give some more insight).
As a side note, moviegoers on Thanksgiving should be allowed to bring leftovers into the theater. Who wants candy when you could have a turkey, stuffing and mashed potato sandwich?
November 24th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Went to see the above mentioned movie last night. It IS about old men, but easy to miss if you just follow the main story line, which is about some bad guys chasing a guy who found some money that was left from a aborted drug deal in the desert of Texas. Lots of dogs are in the movie too, mean ones. One of the three main characters, Tommy Lee Jones wants to retire from law enforcement because of how immoral criminals have become. He feels out-done by them.
I think it’s worth seeing again. No way to predict the ending when you see it the first time. But all the encounters with old men will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, almost wanting to shout at the screen.
Minimal dialogue and NO musical score makes for lots of tension. I am stuck the day after with lots of haunting images and scenes.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Watch it again. After my third viewing it finally made sense. But be prepared to completely change your perception of the main characters.