I’m using this series as a motivation to take a look at all of the Best Picture winners from the past 86 Academy Awards. This may take awhile… In honor of March of the Coens, I wanted to take another look at No Country for Old Men. While Joel and Ethan Coen have been nominated numerous times, with four of their films earning Best Picture nominations, this was their biggest winner. Not only did it take home Best Picture but it also scored three other wins among its 8 nominations. The Coens had the prestigious honor of winning three top awards – Picture, Directing, and Adapted Screenplay.
Directed and written by: Joel and Ethan Coen Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Kelly Macdonald, & Woody Harrelson.
Three men in Texas become involved in a cat and mouse game over a serious amount of cash. Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) happens upon a violent scene that appears to be a drug deal gone wrong and decides to take off with the briefcase of money he finds. He hopes to get his wife, Carla Jean (Macdonald) out of town and hole away with the money until the crime scene cools down. Unfortunately for him, the indomitable and terrifying hitman Anton Chigurh (Bardem) has been hired to recover the money and is searching ruthlessly for whoever took it. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones) is investigating the drug deal murder scene, and hopes to resolve the situation before there’s any more death, but is feeling out of touch and unprepared to deal with the elevated level of crime surrounding him.
My Thoughts:
No Country for Old Men is one of, if not my favorite, Best Picture winner that I’ve seen over the past decade or so. It’s so deeply layered, masterfully filmed, and captivating from start to finish. Most Best Picture winners feel a big glossy and pretty obvious. No Country stands out from the rest, with its gritty, dark story centered on violence in such a serious way. The Academy tends to stand behind brighter, more happy films like The Artist or melodramatic weepers like Million Dollar Baby. This film is so far off from either category. But it’s not just that it differentiates itself – it’s one of our modern masterpieces, a label that funny enough doesn’t really apply to many other winners as of late.
It certainly helps that the story from the novel it’s adapted from by Cormac McCarthy is pretty brilliant on its own (I actually should promptly add it to my reading list now that I’m thinking about it). I’ve heard it’s adapted extremely faithfully and it seems the Coens were truly inspired by McCarthy’s novel, because they delivered some career best work. The story keeps you on your toes, and surprises you around every corner even when you realize after the fact that you should have seen it coming. I have a hard time choosing what my favorite scene is from Old Country. Is it the first magnificently staged motel scene or the second (or the third or fourth for that matter)? Is it the scene where Chigurh encounters the store clerk and makes a coin toss offer for the man’s life? Ed Tom’s poignant conversation with his Uncle Ellis? Or the incredibly showdown at the end where Carla Jean stands her ground? There’s just way too many to consider.
Of course, this film is everything because of its characters and performances. Javier Bardem’s Oscar winning performance as Anton Chigurh is iconic at this point. It’s not just that he’s a vicious and unstoppable killer, but that he has a damn code of conduct. He isn’t just committing thoughtless murders, but has a reason behind every decision he makes, including his choice of weapon. Many have even said he seems supernatural in the way he operates, and he definitely does seem otherworldly at times until a gruesome wound shows you just how human he is – and that’s even scarier. Josh Brolin is great as the stoic Moss. He is pretty prepared and smart in the situation as far as normal people go, but is woefully unmatched when it comes to Chigurh. Brolin plays him desperately when called for, but mostly just unflappable and unwilling to give up his money no matter the threat.
Another actor doing some of his best work is Jones as Ed Tom Bell, who’s really the heart of the film. The film is bookended with his thoughts which set the whole tone for the film. We open on the Texas landscape with Bell’s narration about how violence has gotten out of hand in the area compared to when his father and grandfather were each sheriffs before him. What he’s about to watch unfold is on a new level of crime, but throughout the film it’s suggested that violence and crime have always been hard. Bell is just at the point where he can’t deal with it any longer. He’s constantly refusing opportunities to go out on the scene and suggests the safer course of actions. But the film isn’t portraying him as a weak person. He’s treated with dignity and ultimately does face his fear of the violence in front of him when he investigates the motel room despite his concern that he may come face to face with Chirgurh. It’s subtle but powerful.
That’s a pretty great way to sum up the movie overall actually. On the surface it’s a hitman chasing his prey, but the way everything comes together around that simple plotline is what makes this film so incredible. The Coens are at the very top of their game in No Country for Old Men. It’s my favorite of their work and a fantastic, refreshing choice for Best Picture.
Academy Award nominations and wins:
Won:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor – Javier Bardem
Nominated:
Best Cinematography – Roger Deakins
Best Film Editing – Coen Brothers
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
The Other Guys:
- Atonement – Events unfold after a man is wrongfully arrested for a rape and is torn away from his passionate young love – Won Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli) and nominated in 6 categories
- Juno – A teenage girl with an unplanned pregnancy decides to give her baby up for adoption – Won Best Original Screenplay (Diablo Cody) & nominated in 3 other categories
- Michael Clayton – An attorney must help his law firm with a serious law suit case after the original attorney suffers a mental breakdown – Won Best Supporting Actress (Tilda Swinton) & nominated in 6 other categories
- There Will Be Blood – A man makes it rich in the beginnings of the oil business but sacrifices morality in the process – Won Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Cinematography (Robert Elswit) & nominated in 6 other categories
