No Country for Old Men—so true!
Never has a title been more accurate for a movie.
Even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze has its inaccuracies, because, technically, the turtles are not teenagers. They only act like it. Sometimes. And the Ooze wasn’t really much of a secret to begin with.
And let’s not forget the hit classic Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. *Spoiler alert!* Rick Moranis doesn’t actually shrink his kids. His machine does it, by accident, and only after one of his kids hits the machine with a baseball, causing it to go haywire. So in essence, the title should be Honey, the Kids Shrunk Themselves.
And Batman is technically the Bat-like Man.
I have plenty more examples, but if I shared them, they might undercut my argument (to the untrained eye). So I’ll be safer talking about No Country for Old Men.
The Coen brothers are making a bold statement here, directing this movie. Finally they have the guts to say what we’ve all been thinking about, how there is literally no country for old men. They simply don’t belong out in the country, where there is so much gore and violence.
Tommy Lee Jones exercises my point brilliantly. He is the ultimate old man—a sheriff well beyond his prime. He moseys past all sorts of bloody crime scenes, more like a commentator than anything else.
Eventually he realizes what other old men in the movie realize: Old men should either stay indoors or go on vacation. Otherwise they’ll be wrapped up in way too much action.
And boy does this movie have action! Some of it has been censored for our protection. But what they do show is riveting! I never knew a bolt of air was so deadly! And that Spanish guy, Javier Bardem—he certainly gave me the willies!
I won’t say how this movie ends, but I will say this *hint, hint!* the Coen brothers are famous for making polished movies with a satisfying conclusion. So, obviously, No Country for Old Men is definitely up for a continuation, er, I mean, a sequel.
And kudos to the Coen brothers for pointing out to us the limitations of old men!
And now … check out this other action movie involving old men:
Death Wish 3
Bronson helps us end gang violence!
March 11, 2008 at 7:07 am
i appreciate the unassuming cleverness of No Country… what happens next is always unexpected and yet it never goes “over the top.” well done indeed.
March 13, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Nice review. Yeah, this is a movie that is a lot more about the Sheriff’s character than people think. Which is why it makes sense that the film ends the way it does. The sheriff’s old man woes are a lot more evident in the book too.
July 5, 2008 at 1:16 pm
For anyone interested, the author of “No Country for Old Men” also wrote a post apocalyptic drama called The Road. It’s an Honorary Member of Oprah’s Book Club.
If only Mad Max were dramatized as a novel. It, too, could have been one of Oprah’s favorites.
July 5, 2008 at 1:17 pm
For anyone not interested (and this includes everybody, including myself) the poster of “No Country for Old Men” that you see above has been modified. There’s nothing like it anywhere else.
Normally, since Tommy Lee Jones is the biggest star in the movie, his name goes first … right under Josh Brolin’s face. Artistically, this is great. It requires us viewers to think and connect the dots.
But since I am anti-confusion, I switched the names and made it right!
July 9, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Yanno this actually made me spit the water I was attempting to drink as I read - BRILLIANT review - as always. And the public service of a poster you present.. fantastic.. I can’t wait to see this damn movie.. if ONLY I can convince my roomies it’s worth a view!
July 12, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Thanks, Wolf! I’m all about performing my public service duties!