Cinematography:
Roger DeakinsComposer:
Carter BurwellCast:
Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, Rodger Boyce (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
When a man stumbles on a bloody crime scene, a pickup truck loaded with heroin and two million dollars in cash, his decision to take the money sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of violence. As an enigmatic killer who determines the fate of his victims with the flip of a coin sets out in pursuit of Moss, the disillusioned Sheriff Bell struggles to contain the rapidly escalating violence that seems to be consuming his once-peaceful Lone Star State town. (Miramax Films)
(more)Videos (5)
Reviews (14)
An atmospheric and chilling, deadly quiet and coldly rough thriller, with the unique creative signature of the Coen brothers. In the end, it tries to look like great art and the audience has no problem buying it. After a few ventures into comedy, the Coen brothers have returned to the genre where I like them most. My teenage nightmares were haunted by Michael Myers; today it’s going to be Javier Bardem’s killer. And not even the sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones can save me from him.
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That's what I call courage — making a whole movie with no music. What's interesting is that I didn't mind at all. Otherwise, the Coen brothers play a classic game of cat and mouse, arming the cat with an air pistol (amazing idea by the way) and the mouse with a shotgun loaded with tent stakes. The atmosphere is built brilliantly, and the insertion of the philosophizing Tommy Lee Jones gives the story the right flair. The Oscars for Bardem and both directors are definitely deserved. I'm a little surprised about the award for best motion picture, but it's good that the golden statuette was given to this type of movie again. A slightly weak five stars.
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The ecstatic cries of American critics, confirmed by the Oscar award, about extreme violence are rather pious pleas of all those who have read McCarthy’s novel and have seen something made by the Coen brothers before. The film is a perfect confirmation that the writers are slowly but surely becoming as arid as the desert on the Texas-Mexico border. This stuff was made for them, but a slave adaptation doesn't make a good movie, and if they didn't have those amazing actors (after American Gangster, Josh Brolin wins again), their adaptation would have absolutely lost its meaning. 70% (rounded down due to expectations).
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A deadly thrilling neo-western with a macho, honest tradition. What the mournful narrator tells is not just a tale of a worthy and evil pursuer, but also a multi-layered testament that old times cannot be brought back. Originality in every step, a maddeningly oppressive silence, and a feeling that this story could have been even a good bit longer.
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When Hitchcock allowed his protagonist to die in one-third of his legendary movie Psycho and fill the space with other characters, it was considered a revolution in the film industry. The Coen brothers go even further and play with the script, going against all conventions and the expectations of genre fans. In the traditional mainstream film concept, the script has its own rules and is developed almost to perfection. It is known when the first dead body should appear on the scene and how many plot twists should happen to maintain the viewer's attention. The Coen brothers mock their audience and when the climax of the plot is supposed to happen, they make a fool of them. From the perspective of a genre fan, the film lacks any kind of ending. Not just the so-called "open" ending, where the protagonist decides what to do and leaves it up to the viewer's imagination how it turns out. Three-quarters of the film prepares the viewer for the final confrontation between two main unbending characters - and it is tragically and comically thwarted. They introduce characters whose development is in direct contrast to the viewer's expectations (Tommy Lee Jones or Woody Harrelson) and unnecessarily let those with whom the viewer sympathizes die. In this respect, they are original and maybe that was one of the reasons why the academics decided how The Oscars turned out. On the other hand, the film is incredibly captivating with its structure and a series of clever details and individual scenes, but the script is unfinished and some characters are simply untrustworthy. The Coen brothers have never been afraid to depict violence and death, but they went a bit overboard here. Instead of the standard three dead bodies, there is a pile of them and you feel like you are watching a Tarantino film. As Stalin once said, one death is a tragedy, a million then becomes a necessary statistic. The main protagonist is a mass murderer who seems to have escaped from some comic book, and again, I would believe Tarantino more. He doesn't belong in real life. In that battle with the drug cartel, he wouldn't stand a chance by the way. Holding a gas bomb in his hand is too conspicuous and he makes too many mistakes. To truly evaluate the film, it would be good to read Cormac McCarthy's book from 2005, which I have not done. This film is strong in details and individual scenes, but I have quite a few problems with its overall reception. Overall impression: 80%.
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