In last week’s Weekend Buff, we reviewed the traditional western Tombstone (1993). It’s a great film that anyone would like, and is a right-up-the-middle classic western. This week we are sticking with the western genre, but this one is far from traditional.
No Country for Old Men (2007) is a modern western with a twist, or perhaps we should say twisted. It’s part western, part crime drama, part horror movie. The film (and the Cormac McCarthy book) centers on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, an aging West Texas lawman from a long line of cops.
Bell is investigating a multiple homicide crime scene involving cartel members. The money is missing, but the bodies are present. We know that local resident Llewelyn Moss came upon the same crime scene and took the money. As Sheriff Bell investigates the crime, hitman Anton Chigurh is hired to find the missing money.
Chigurh is as creepy a character as you will find in a movie. With his own twisted and dark code, he dispatches anyone who gets in the way of his mission – and even some that don’t.
The Chigurh character is the epitome of escalating random violence in our society. Llewelyn Moss is greed personified, risking his life and the lives of his family for money that is not his. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell represents tradition and values. These are things in short supply as the world spins further and further and further into violence and greed.
Sheriff Bell is tired. Tired and feeling helpless to fight back against the tide of crime that is changing the world around him. It’s a feeling many cops have as they move down the road of their careers. Eventually everyone must hang up the gunbelt, but the futility of the never-ending fight against crime can drive some to retire earlier than planned. Another homicide scene just like the last one, another robbery pattern with the guy you locked up last year, another domestic violence incident at the same address. The stress and futility build up and wears cops down. Rarely does it seem that society is getting better.
That is what Sheriff Bell is going through. Police work is changing from the days of his father and grandfather. Being the guy in the white hat and making a difference doesn’t feel like a part of the job anymore. An ever more violent and heartless world is leaving him behind.
No Country for Old Men is another great cop film from the Coen Brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit). By 2007 they had had enough success to draw any actor in Hollywood, and they assemble an all-star cast for this dark and creepy film.
Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as Sheriff Bell. He nails the part as the tired old cop. Josh Brolin is Llewelyn Moss, the poor man who thinks he has hit the jackpot but learns that greed has consequences. His suffering wife is played by Kelly MacDonald. Javier Bardem plays the hired assassin, Anton Chigurh. Bardem is absolutely phenomenal in this role. He really makes the film into part horror flick with his acting. His character is the stuff of nightmares, and it is his work that gives that vibe. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. The cast is rounded out with Woody Harrellson, Garret Dillahunt, and Barry Corbin.
No Country for Old Men is a film with such depth and nuance that you can watch it multiple times and always find something you missed. It runs long at a little over 2 hours, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat. You can catch it for free on YouTube or Paramount+. Take the time to watch this modern take on the western that breaks the mold. Some will love it, some will not. It’s a toss-up.
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a Coen Brothers classic.