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"No Country for Old Men" (2007) Watch Along

🕑 Added 2024-06-11 00:00:09 +0000 UTC

Comments

Amalia Wolf

Love this!!!

John Courtright

I thought No Country For Old Men was a fascinating case study on the nature of evil and the weakness and frailty of human beings. *** SPOILERS *** The premise, of seeing a drug deal gone bad, is a good one. Almost everyone has fantasized, at one point or another, about finding a large amount of money, and wondering, what would we do in such a situation. Would we keep it? Would we hand it over to the authorities? Would knowing the money was connected to a big drug deal influence our choices? Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is an ordinary guy. He’s trying to get by, but life is difficult. He finds the money and decides that trying to keep it is worth the risk. Perhaps he'll get away with it. Perhaps it will give him and Carla Jean a better life. One of the great weaknesses of mankind is the lies we’re willing to tell ourselves in order to justify doing what we intend to do anyway. Even though, as an audience, we’re cheering Llewelyn on throughout the film, the plain fact of the matter is (despite Llewelyn being capable), he’s walked into a situation he’s not equipped to handle. Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is a police officer nearing retirement. He knows or suspects what has happened but feels “overmatched” by the situation. (Also he doesn’t want to get himself killed just days before his retirement). He knows in his heart, this is no country for an old man like him. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is the ultimate psychopath. He’s on a mission to retrieve his money and will kill anyone he needs (or wants) to, along the way. He is methodical and calculating, completely unemotional and cold-hearted with no conscience, no guilt, and no remorse. He is the devil. Certainly one of the most frightening characters in the history of film. One of my favorite scenes is with the old man in the store. Chigurh tells him to call the coin flip and the old man is unnerved by Chigurh's odd behavior and wants to know what they’re flipping for. He asks, “What do I have to win?”, to which Chigurh replies, “Everything”. Interestingly, the old man doesn’t ask, “What do I have to lose?” He doesn’t realize the answer is the same, “Everything”. I love how Llewelyn‘s wife, Carla Jean, won’t call the coin flip at the end of the film. “The flip doesn’t decide anything. It’s all you”. I love how she calls him out. She knows he can’t blame his actions on the flip of a coin. The coin isn’t forcing his hand. Chigurh is upset that Carla Jean shatters the illusion by not calling the flip. She is so brave. She knows the end has come for her but maintains her dignity and calls Chigurh out on his BS. Chigurh tells her that Llewelyn had a chance to save her, but instead used her to try to save himself. At least partially true perhaps, but there is no sense in Llewelyn trying to make a deal with Chigurh. If you make a deal with the devil, you must be forgetting... the devil is a liar and doesn't play by the rules. A fascinating film and a good reaction.