Never has a title been more accurate for a movie.
The directors, A.K.A. the Coen Bros., are making a bold statement . . . how there is literally No Country for Old Men. Old men 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!
July 5, 2008 at 1:17 pm
For anyone interested 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 matched the names to the correct faces.