Movie Debate #32: No Country for Old Men

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

Part 1 of 2 for @Californication's picks

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I haven't seen it. I'd watch it though. 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

A solid 8 for the year it was released.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I just could not get into this movie. The Coen Brothers are often dense and fill their works with deep metaphors and dark themes that can be intellectually interesting, but Javier Bardem's character just felt too cartoony here. I get that he represents an unstoppable force of nature (specifically the inevitability of time and change), but this is still a human story and the lack of a real human antagonist made it hard for me to care about the human protagonist. I think the Coens are much better at making their point with dark humor as opposed to pure darkness (I'm not a huge fan of Lebowski, but Fargo and Burn After Reading are both great). Anyways, this movie is a 5/10 for me and I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

Edited August 24, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[RH | 4,904]

An 8 of 10.  Well made and the fact that it has no music makes the story telling even more amazing.

[TDIRunner | 2,741]

I'm torn between a 9 and a 10.  It's probably a 9.9.  I really enjoy this movie and I've watched it more times than I can remember.  I really enjoy the attention to detail that most scenes receive and the amount of time spent with little or no dialogue.  I also enjoy the amount of the story that is left to interpretation.    

[Gloves | 11,783]

Never seen it. 

[Richardhead | 2,813]

Fun movie. Took me years after the dvd release to actually watch it though. I’ve got an 8.

[Psychobear85 | 141]

One of those you have to rewatch a few times to appreciate 

[TDIRunner | 2,741]

2 minutes ago, Psychobear85 said:

One of those you have to rewatch a few times to appreciate 

Agreed.  

[Brickman | 3,987]

Movie 7/10, book 9/10. It was a great movie but didn’t quite capture me as much as the book did.

Would love to see The Road up here at some point. That’s another Cormac McCarthy novel made into a movie, which was brilliant imo.

[mbd39 | 2,024]

8/10. This is probably my favorite scene in any movie.

 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

18 minutes ago, Shmup said:

Would love to see The Road up here at some point. That’s another Cormac McCarthy novel made into a movie, which was brilliant imo.

I could never make myself watch that movie after finishing the book.  It maxed out my threshold for "grim".

[RH | 4,904]

3 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

8/10. This is probably my favorite scene in any movie.

 

I feel like that's the scene that sums up the entire film in about 5 minutes.

For me, this film was more commentary on the loss of good old fashion, humble American pie, picket-fence desiring Americana nostalgia juxtaposed to the reality of today of a degradation of morality, selfishness and decline of general American "innocence".  Not only are those days gone, but they seem to slip further and further away.  This film isn't about Bardam's character. It's more about the experience of Jones's as he's hunting down this guy and experiencing evil unlike anything he's heard or seen before. Regardless, there's a large lack of shock on Jones's part because society has already been sliding down that slope for decades so even though the path Bardam's character leaves is ruthless, it's not entirely unexpected.  This isn't a movie about shock-value.  It's about slow changes towards depravity in society.

Even the end eludes itself to the continuation of this downward spiral with Bardam's final interaction with the kids.  I'll try not to spoil it but both their behavior and his treatment of them is more symbolic that moral degradation and collective seering of consciences isn't stopping and will continue on with further generations.  Bardam is a "fringe" character of society, no doubt. Regardless, his character represents a change in morality that seeps into our culture slowly with time.  Jones, representing the old school, humble, "good" way of life and represents a passing generation that tries to reconcile and get by in a world that's changing and unrecognizable. 

In the end, we are all on that spectrum and at some point, the trend is likely to continue that we will feel that we are living in a "country" that has no place for us.

TL;DR: This film has a real nihilistic view of our society and it's evolution towards a loss of morality and embracing violent culture.  At least, that was my opinion on the meaning of it all.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

I'd be curious to know when our "moral golden age" was occuring 

[a3quit4s | 4,102]

Easy 9

[Hammerfestus | 3,847]

I saw it.  I was bored. It’s ok I guess.  5

Edited August 24, 2020 by Hammerfestus

[Californication | 1,477]

The banter between him and his wife cracks me up.

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Californication

[The Count | 527]

9/10. So good, the cinematography was stupendous. It won Best Picture for a reason.

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

10/10. Love the Coens. Tempted to go 9 because it robbed my favorite movie There Will Be Blood of its rightful Best Picture academy award, but it's still one of my favorite movies. I agree the coin toss scene is one of the tensest, best acted scenes in any movie.

Edited August 25, 2020 by DefaultGen