No Country for Old Men

No Men for Old Country.   No, that’s not it.   I kept saying it, though, so often that we started to laugh and just mix it up more…   No Old for Country Men.   Old Men for No Country.    Ok, maybe not so funny.

Hub and I traveled all the way to SANDWICH MASSACHUSETTS!  to catch this flick in a butter drenched popcorn serving theatre!   (don’t you love to spell it theatre and not theater?  I do. )

I had read the book and I adore ADORE the Coen Brothers so I insisted that we go to the cinema to see the film.   Having read the book, I knew how a few scenes might play out but the screenplay had enough differences that I was riveted throughout and was amazed at how well a book that included so many thoughts inside the heads of the characters could be translated to the screen.   Very well.   [I must recommend you read the book; it’s not better per se but more layered and much more philosophical, still stark.]

EIGHT NOMINATIONS

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:  Javier Bardem

Achievement in Cinematography:  Roger Deakins

Achievement in Directoring:  Joel Coen/Ethan Coen 

Achievement in Film Editing:  Roderick Jaynes

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Achievement in Sound Editing

Achievement in Sound Mixing

Adapted Screenplay:  Ethan Coen/Joel Coen from book of same title by Cormac McCarthy

This movie is about a rugged independent kind of guy (with a smart cookie for a wife*) who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad.   Since fate has dropped two million dollars into his lap, he feels he might as well find out if he can get away with it.    Unfortunately, a man who can’t be bargained with is after him.   And then there is the Sheriff of the County who wonders if he’s getting too old to play cops and robbers.   He wonders if crime is getting worse, or if he’s just getting too old to keep up.    

SPOILER ALERT!  (but not really…)

So, Friend-O, if you love the Coens, you’ll love this!     STOP HERE if you just don’t want to know…    If you love suspense and abrupt endings that don’t necessarily have things tidied up all happy; you’ll appreciate this!  If you love sweeping Texas scenery, you’ll  see some here.   If you need to have all crazy psychopaths get their comeuppance, you’ll hate it.    

I figure if you don’t like movies like this, then you’ve already figured out that you don’t need to see this.      AND, if you love the Coens but haven’t yet seen NCFOM then you just haven’t gotten ’round to it YET and this review won’t have any impact whatsoever anyway…   Am I right? 

Tommy Lee Jones is awesome, too.    Javier is just scary.     Josh was incredible, too, but I think I had such respect and awe for his character from reading the book, that I was influenced in the positive to love him in this.   [and why did I think he was so much older than he looked?]     Now that I think about it, I’m not sure the movie gave me enough of Llewellen Moss.    Again, I am not one to say that ‘the book was so much better’ because I think I know and I do respect what filmmakers have to do with written source material.     Coens did a terrific, masterful, artsy job here.   I knew I would love it and I was not disappointed.

* Kelly Macdonald  played Carla Jean Moss and I loved her performance.   I get bugged when I recognize an actress but can’t think why!  in what?!    And, then to go to imdb.com to see the list of work and not remember if I’ve seen any of the movies.   I must be recollecting her role as Peter Pan in Finding Neverland (2004)!    I will have to rent that again…    I had this same crisis for Michelle Monaghan in Gone Baby Gone.    That review is coming soon.