Onde os Fracos Não Têm Vez

It was not very long before I watched 'No Country for Old Men' that I watched the other remarkable film of 2007, 'There Will Be Blood.' Back then I thought that Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered the Best Picture of the year with his oil epic, but after watching the Coen brothers chilling and violent adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel, I knew right away that here was a film destined to be even a greater film than any I've seen this past year.

It's not easy to watch 'No Country for Old Men.' The first time I saw it, I found myself dazed enough to not be able to stand-up immediately even after the whole end credits have finished. And yet, mixed with the feeling of shock is the profound sense of wonder and awe with what I have just witnessed on the screen. It took me another viewing to fully appreciate the meaning and intention of the film, and while the experience from watching the film is not one everybody will enjoy and understand, it certainly is one of the most moving and thought-provoking movies I have ever watched. This is the kind of movie that will make you think, the kind that stays with you even after a long time has passed since you've last watched it. On the literal level, it is a simple cat-and-mouse chase thriller movie, but from within its roots lie a very profound philosophical and penetrating analysis not only of the characters and the situations involved in the story, but also of the kind of world we are living in today and the more monstrous sides of it we often choose to ignore.

The story revolves around the chase between a guy named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin,) who stumbles upon a stash of money in a drug deal gone wrong in the middle of the desert and a psychopathic but surprisingly "principled" assassin named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). The third party and the moral center of the story is the guy trying to find both the hunter and the hunted, Ed Tom Bell, the old sheriff of a peaceful, but increasingly becoming violent locality in West Texas.

The movie features the perfect mix thrill and excitement that would be expected out of a movie in this genre. The Coen brothers' direction of the particularly intense chase scenes between Chigurh and Moss are masterful, evoking emotions of suspense to the highest level and pushing the audience to the very edge of their seats. This is achieved by very careful editing and sound direction that perfectly recreates the tense atmosphere whenever a particular scene is being played out. Also remarkable is the photography (done by Roger Deakins) of vast scenes in the desert where even what the ordinary moviegoer would consider as "empty scenes", where no action is played out, tells a story in a visual manner, where even when there is no dialogue or action on screen, the sweeping images speak out for themselves.

'No Country for Old Men' is rich in such bravura kind of film-making. The particular camera move, position and choice of background and other trivial details such as time of day, cloud cover or positioning of the props and point-of-view perspective offer the best experience for the audience, and the most effective means of story-telling for the Coen brothers. Just watch the scenes of Tommy Lee Jones as the tormented old sheriff being burdened by the challenge of something that is greater a force than himself, something that he "does not understand," and you will realize what I mean. The environment and tone created by the filmmakers perfectly accentuates the performance of Jones and more importantly, the core messages of the film. This style is present throughout the film and one of the particular points that makes it more than just a chase movie.

I must say that I can't help but agree to most people when they say the Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh is the most disturbing character (and yet mesmerizing) to grace the screen since Anthony Hopkins introduced us to Hannibal Lecter in 'Silence of the Lambs.' Chigurh effectively radiates evil and embodies violence in a very intelligent and forceful manner that touches the fear in all of us. Like Lecter, he personifies evil not in the conventional and simple sense, but in way that somehow presents to us the whole magnitude and complexity of its nature. In the dialogue he speaks, a kind of thinking revealed is one that is calculating and deeply philosophical but essentially ruthless and sinister.

The film's monumental achievement is in its ability to remarkably transport us into a world where the places, emotions, fears, anxieties, choices, morals and realities of life are strikingly brought to life and presented to us in a manner where we, after the whole experience, can reflect upon and look back with careful consideration. In the end, the moviegoer is left to marvel at the beauty (and madness) of it all. Here the theme of innocence lost as it is corrupted by evil and violence is explored in the most cinematic fashion, delivered perfectly with richness of emotion and the greatest impact possible. The violence and bleakness of it all is not there to simply evoke reaction or engage the audience, it is there to tell a story and impart an experience of great magnitude and intention, to which the Coen brothers have brilliantly succeeded. All at the same time the movie is a character study on the effects of evil and innocence lost, an exploration on the themes of fate and chance, an analysis of the freedom to choose and its consequences, a reflection on evil and good as forces of society and the investigation of basic human emotions such as hope, fear, love, violence and aspiration in the face of a variety of situations.

An opportunity presents to get rich quick, a stash of cash made up of bills thick as a brick, but your conscience sets a trail, for a reaper to assail, a real psycho, has a vessel with a kick. You start to make a run, but you're tracked down, these pursuers cause a grimace, and a frown, until you spot the hidden tracker, locater for deadly attacker, you make escape, but get injured, as you leave town. Determination keeps the story rolling on, everyone risks, the singing of, their own swan song, the lives of others are ignored, fate, luck, destiny explored, but the bounty counts for nothing, if you're long gone.

Some of the finest cinematic characters you'll encounter.

No Country for Old Men won four Academy Awards in 2007, including Best Picture and Best Director(s). Despite the critical acclaim, the Coen Brother's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel was probably a bit of a head-scratcher to many people.

The film's narrative begins in familiar fashion, introducing you to the main characters and setting up the plot using recognized, established filmic devices. Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon a suitcase filled with cash and wants to keep it for himself. Anton Chigurh is the sociopath who will stop at nothing to get the cash back. Ed Bell is the Sheriff tasked with bringing Chigurh to justice and, it is presumed, keeping Moss and his wife, Carla Jean, from danger. In addition, there's a corporate backer, a hired gun, and a Mexican gang who are also after the cash (i.e., the McGuffin). So much for the usual narrative elements.

When the film continues far beyond the point that the expected narrative structure breaks down, viewers are left to grasp at what the film is actually about. What, if anything, is this film trying to say?

I propose that the film is, among other things, a meditation on the impotence of human and divine systems of justice in light of unflinching, unrelenting, random, radical evil. There are a number of elements in the film that indicate such a meditation, but one need not look much further than the meditations of Sheriff Bell, whose words begin and end the film. Consider:

"There was this boy I sent to the 'lectric chair at Huntsville Hill here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killt a fourteen-year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell. 'Be there in about fifteen minutes'. I don't know what to make of that. I sure don't. The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure."

With these words, the film's "story line" unfolds, with Sheriff Bell trying, and failing, to be effective.

At the end of the film, the retired Sheriff Bell describes a dream to his wife:

"It was like {my father and I} was both back in older times and I was on horseback going' through the mountains of a night. Going' through this pass in the mountains. It was cold and there was snow on the ground and he rode past me and kept on going'. Never said nothing' going' by. He just rode on past... and he had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down and when he rode past I seen he was carryin' fire in a horn the way people used to do and I could see the horn from the light inside of it. 'Bout the color of the moon. And in the dream I knew that he was going' on ahead and he was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up."

The film is nihilistic in both structure and content. If you would like to force a less despairing ending, Bell's dream could be interpreted as a ray of hope: a light shines in the darkness! On the other hand, it is a dream that he wakes up from.

I don't know what to make of that. I sure don't. But that doesn't mean I can't try.

Opinions do look to be sharply divided on this typically interesting effort for the Coen brothers. Some hail it a masterpiece, others don't see the appeal at all. While this viewer doesn't quite fit into the former camp, he will say that it's one of the more unconventional examples of crime fiction that one is likely to see. It's much more of a character piece than anything, with some grisly scenes of violence here and there. Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, it centres around three characters, one being a poor hunter named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who one day stumbles into the aftermath of some drug deal gone horribly wrong. He finds $2 million on the scene and impulsively decides to keep the money for himself, while a mysterious, creepy, sadistic stranger named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) tracks him down, porting a unique pressurized air weapon. Somewhat involved is a weary Texas sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who's unsettled by what he sees as the changing times. Now, granted, what's going to test the patience of some of the viewers are some of the monologues; this isn't for people who want a straightforward story and who are turned off by philosophical musings. One can hardly fail to notice how low key most of this narrative is; even in the more intense scenes there's never really a sense of urgency. On the plus side, what we do get are some excellent character moments from the solid star trio of Brolin, Bardem, and Jones. The supporting cast is equally impressive - Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, and Beth Grant. The Coens work with some of their reliable prior collaborators such as composer Carter Burwell and cinematographer Roger Deakins. All things considered, "No Country for Old Men" may not be to all tastes, and does require some patience on the part of the viewer. It also doesn't resolve itself in the way one might expect for this genre, and might prove to be less than satisfactory in this regard for some of those watching. There's one fantastic confrontation near the end, but the film closes, curiously enough, after a monologue by Bell about a dream he's had. How much or how little all of this works will be up to the individual viewer. In any event, the actors are all fantastic, especially Bardem, and they make the journey worthwhile. Eight out of 10.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A hunter (Josh Brolin) comes across a group of trucks with dead bodies everywhere and discovers $2 million in cash, which he takes. Soon a psychotic killer (Javier Bardem) is after him while a local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to figure out what's going on. I'll start off by saying that I'm not a big fan of the Coen brothers. With that out of the way, this is certainly the best movie I've seen from them but it goes downhill very quickly in the final thirty-minutes, which are quite horrid to be honest. However, everything before that is masterfully done with a beautiful craft that makes this familiar story come off very original, dark and at times funny. I really enjoyed the slow pace that the film carries but I'm not sure if that's how I should describe it. The movie has plenty of graphic violence and action and what makes it so shocking is that it usually comes out of no where or happens when you don't expect it. The pace of the film is slow but this helps when the violence breaks out. The performances are all terrific with Bardem stealing the show as the psychotic killer. Whenever he's on screen you can't take your eyes off of him and his silent performance speaks more than any words could. I was also very impressed with Brolin who I'm usually hit and miss on. Woody Harrelson has a few nice scenes and Tommy Lee Jones is the old Tommy Lee Jones we all love. The film was a lot of fun until the conclusion, which I thought was quite awful.