March 18, 2008

When I first saw the trailer for No Country for Old Men I had no idea what it would be about but I knew that I had to see it. That fact that the Coen brothers were directing it was enough for me. I waited a few days to go see it just to judge other’s reactions. Shockingly, only one person I knew was even interested in seeing it. After sitting through the entire movie I felt moved and wanted to see it again to try and answer all the questions about the plot that I had. Just a few days ago I got that chance and I couldn’t be happier.

No Country for Old men may sound like a movie you’ve seen before. Drug deal gone bad, man finds money, other man sent to hunt down the money. Sounds familiar? Well it’s not. Joel and Ethan Coen took a great story written by Cormac McCarthy and turn it into so much more than just another familiar drug deal gone bad movie. It’s quite simply a masterpiece of film making.

The year is 1980 and the movie starts off with a man named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) being arrested and placed into a police car. The movie doesn’t explain what happened but you can use your imagination. Well this man brutally kills the police officer and escapes with ease.

At the same time a man named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is hunting out in the back country of West Texas. Out in the middle of nowhere he comes across a drug exchange that took a bloody turn for the worst. After finding the “last man standing” dead against a tree with two million dollars he decides to leave town taking the money with him. Big Mistake.

You find out that this Chigurh character is on the hunt for the two million dollars and is willing to do anything to get it, and I mean anything. Bardem’s character is one of mystery. At a point during the movie someone questions if he has some set of higher moral beliefs. Killing to him seems as natural as breathing. He is the believable Michael Myers. During one of the most intriguing scenes of the movie Chigurh engages in a conversation and a coin flip with a gas station owner. This scene alone has become one of my all-time favorite scenes in any movie. This scene showcases Bardems outstanding acting ability.

Llewelyn Moss isn’t exactly an easy target though. You find out that Moss is a crafty, hard-as-nails Vietnam veteran who is willing to do anything to protect the money that he found. Brolin does an amazing job showing Moss’s sympathy toward others without making him look soft.

All the time that this cat and mouse chase is going on the elderly Sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) can’t seem to catch up. Bell’s father was a sheriff and he became a sheriff at the age of 25. Law enforcement has run in his family since he can remember. Despite this, throughout the entire movie he is always a step behind them. This trend leads to the fact that Bell never plays a significant role in the chase. He always misses the action prompting the title, No Country for Old Men.

No Country for Old Men is full of beautiful picturesque landscapes brought to you in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The Blu-ray version offers darker black levels and more crisp detail. Unfortunately that is all that it offers. The aspect ratio is obviously the same. Both versions offer 5.1 Surround Sound which is a little disappointing for the Blu-ray version considering that they could have upped it to 7.1.

If you are looking for some additional extras on the Blu-ray version you won’t find them. The same set of extras was included in both formats of the movie. These extras include: Working with the Coens, The Making of No Country for Old Men, and Diary of A Country Sheriff. The biggest feature, to me, was the one that was left out which is director commentary. In any movie I always like some kind of commentary to give more insight into the directing choices that were made but for some reason this feature was not included.

Filmmaking: 10
Joel and Ethan Coen direct, in my mind, the greatest masterpiece of theirs to date. They took a great story written by Cormac McCarthy and turned it to an amazing experience. From the casting to the setting everything is perfect.

Graphics: 10
Open spaces have never been so meaningful. The 2.35:1 aspect ratio conveys open spaces brilliantly. The Blu-ray transfer offers even better black levels and crisper environments than the DVD.

Sound: 9
No Country for Old Men offers 5.1 surround sound and, when in use, it sounds great but at the same time this isn’t a very loud film. A lot of the greatness of this film comes from its scenes that offer little noise and only a conversation. It’s these quiet scenes that show how powerful sound can be in a film not loud and explosive action scenes.

Value: 7
This is where the ball was dropped. No extra features. No 7.1 Surround sound. Nothing more than the standard DVD version, nothing but 5 bucks more that is.

Overall: 8.9
I’m sure that this movie will become one of your all-time favorites. Unfortunately, the Blu-ray edition doesn’t really offer anything more than that of the regular DVD except for improved levels of detail, so keep that in mind and stick with the standard DVD.