Go See One of the Greatest Movies of the Year or Else I Will Hurt You
Cormac McCarthy is a brilliant author, a practitioner of a writing style not unlike that of Melville or Faulkner, with a flowing quality while showing the stark harshness of some peoples lives. A truly great author, one of my favorites, so much so that I can recommend his books to anyone who can read. His second to latest opus was one titled No Country for Old Men, an evocative study into the case of human nature wrapped around a thrilling chase plot. The book is great, no doubt, but did you know that a movie based on it was just released? No, I don’t think you did, because otherwise you would have seen it. And if you did know about it and did not pay your $6.50, shame on you. In the following, I will describe quite possibly my movie of the year.
The year is Sometime, southern Texas. It doesn’t really matter. A poor machinist by the name of Lewellyn Moss is out hunting elk, as usual, when he happens upon a drug deal gone bad. Cautiously looking around, he finds nothing but dead bodies, a truckload of dope, and over two million in a little black attache case. Taking it back home, he unwittingly sets the tide of events that engulf his family and everyone around him.
Meet Anton Chigurh. He is the assassin sent to find and kill Moss, getting the money back. I’ll be honest with you, Chigurh almost makes the movie. This man is evil incarnate, so ruthless and without compassion, he calmly tracks Moss down and disposes of anyone in his way. Tall and slouching, with a hideous smile, almost any scene Chigurh is in makes the scene classic. When asked about him, about how dangerous he is, a fellow bounty hunter snidely replies “Compared to what? The Black Plague?”. I could talk about this guy for the rest of the post, but instead I will just post what I think is the greatest scene involving this badass. As he is driving to the town Moss lives in, Chigurh stops by a tiny gas station. He walks up to the counter and almost strikes up a conversation with the poor old storekeeper. After getting frustrated upon learning the store proprietor chose such a dull and (in his eyes) meaningless life, he offers the storekeeper to call a coin flip. The storekeeper is a little perturbed at this point, and remarks that he didn’t put anything up for it. “Yes you did,” rasps Chigurh, “You’ve been putting it up your whole life, everything, up until this moment.” They are both talking about the store owners death, with neither explicitly stating it outright. This is one of the most tense scenes I have ever laid eyes on, comparable to the Bible speech Samuel L shouts in Pulp Fiction in terms of sheer intensity. This scene, more than anything, tells you everything you need to know about Chigurh, with some of the best dialog ever put into film.
A Vietnam veteran, Moss feels like he is enough to face whatever dangers are presented by his taking some drug lords money. He embarks on an escape from everyone, with the force of nature that is Chigurh coming after him. Comparable to the Terminator, the dude just doesn’t stop coming. But that is really only the first 3/4’s of the movie. The last few sequences are some of the most thought-provoking and almost depressing I have ever seen, but not in any overt way, just subtly implied. Major props to Tommy Lee Jones, who plays a small town sheriff who is on the trail death Chigurh leaves behind. These three characters make this movie what it is, with not one part that can be left out.
Honestly, this is one of the Coen Brothers best work, perhaps it is their best, which says quite a bit. Always reinventing their style and tone, the Coens are among the best in Hollywood, never settling for the boring, staid, or cliched. If you enjoyed this film (which you should, fool) go see Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, or Millers Crossing. All of these are classic films, but they might have outdid themselves with No Country, and I honestly couldn’t be happier. Unless you are offended by incredibly good movies, or a little violence, you have no excuse. Go! Now!
