Film Review: No Country For Old Men

By Tadhg Curtin

A pulpy cat and mouse thriller proves so much more than that in the Coen Brothers superb, contemporary classic No Country For Old Men (2007).

The great American writer, Cormac McCarthy, passed away recently. Deemed by many of those who admired him as ‘the writer’s writer’ his works were rough, tough, and often drenched in blood. Works like The Road and what many deem his masterpiece, Blood Meridian depict a harsh existence for their characters. The way the environment and the way the people treat each other suggests that life can be unforgiving and so too is humanity. His 2005 novel, No Country For Old Men, leans in on this the most. On its surface, it’s his most pulpy and accessible work. The story follows an every man discovering a satchel of money after a drug deal gone wrong leading to his pursuit by a deadly bounty hunter. Brought to the big screen by the Coen brothers, they unleashed a cracking thrill ride as well as one of the great movie villains in Anton Chigurh.

Critic Roger Ebert, in his glowing review, called it “a perfect movie” and might very well be. The cast of are fantastic; Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Scotswoman Kelly MacDonald is flawless as Brolin’s Texan wife, and Javier Bardem, in a career defining performance, as the immortal Anton Chigurh. A ruthless, seemingly unstoppable hunter, he is more a spectre of doom to those who cross his path and his weapon of choice is unique to say the least. So effective is the character that a group of psychologists and medical experts deemed Chigurh the most realistic depiction of a psychopath on-screen.

Roger Deakins’ cinematography is masterful as always. He gives it a stark look, stating he didn’t want to stylise the piece. He was correct - it suits McCarthy’s stark work (Deakins, who has lensed some of our favourite movies, after many nominations got his first Oscar in 2018 which is ridiculous).

And the score, well, the funny thing is there is no score. When the Coens were asked why no music, they said they felt it didn’t need it and they are correct. It lends an ominous quality to the movie. It’s actually not completely without score, Carter Burwell provides an ambient soundscape in key parts that’s way more effective then a bombastic soundtrack.

No Country is one of the most philosophical thrillers ever made. It looks at past and present, fate and circumstance, life and death. It’s no exaggeration to call it a modern classic. The coin toss scene is truly iconic. It’s not just the greatest scene committed to the big screen so far this century, it’s also a master-class in suspense. No Country had a profound effect on my outlook on life. What it puts forth is that as crazy as the world is now, it’s always been crazy. To quote one of the characters towards the movies end; “What you got ain’t nothin’ new. This country’s hard on people. You can’t stop what’s coming. It ain’t all waiting on you. That’s vanity ”

A perfect combination of art and entertainment, No Country For Old Men is a movie for the ages. See it...Friendo.

Available, on DVD, Blu Ray and to stream on Netflix.