rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2007
Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; produced by Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen; screenplay by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt
'Fargo' may be their best feature, but 'The Big Lebowski' is my personal favorite when it comes to Joel & Ethan Coen, the two filmmakers with that very personal and recognizable style. Their latest, 'No Country for Old Men', is more like the first and as good as both, altough I am not sure how many real fans of the latter will like it. A sure Oscar-contender, the film follows three lives coming together with a drugdeal gone wrong.
While hunting Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds quite some drugs surrounded by a lot of dead bodies. The cash is missing, he realizes, and finds it a few hundred yards away. He wishes he never had. The reason is Anton Chigurgh (Javier Bardem), the creepiest and deadliest serial killer in recent movie history. Comparisons with John Doe from 'Seven' or even Hannibal Lecter ('The Silence of the Lambs') are not completely out of place. Chigurgh will not stop before he has the money, and even then there is still a chance he will go on hunting down Llewelyn. The film follows the local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones), on a case dealing with a lot of dead bodies and some missing cash, as well.
Since this is a Coen-film, we do meet some interesting characters along the way. One of them is a bounty hunter named Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson), who seems to be the only person who knows Chigurgh. There is also Llewelyn's wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald). She turns out to be one of the stronger characters in the film. Chigurgh meets his share of interesting characters on his search for Llewelyn, and although the characters are not not that special, their dialogue and dealing with the situations make them special. High praise should go to the Coen brothers for these little scenes.
As directors, producers, screenwriters, editors, as magnificent storytellers, the Coens have shown their talent many times before. Here they are on the top of their game. 'No Country for Old Men' works perfectly, in single scenes (suspense has not often been better), and in the end as a whole with an ending that will not satisfy all, but seems perfect to me. It may not be a real conclusion, the story is told. We are left to think about it, to realize how complete the characters were and how well they were played, to finally see the beautiful images from cinematographer Roger Deakens. We are left to think about arguably the best film of 2007.