No Country For Old men - AMAZING

No Country For Old Men

Director: Joel and Ethan Cohen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem

MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language.

What a film! This sucker is a plate full of brontosaurus stakes, a film I can just dig into and come out so full. This is not a perfect movie, and at the risk of spoiling the plot I’ll tell you up front that I came out feeling a little bit cheated and a little empty. As the ultimate movie muncher I was very satisfied with my meal, but something didn’t settle quite right, and you’ll have to watch to find out what. That being said this is a near perfect movie with flawless acting, breathtaking suspense, and a brilliant script.



The acting was great. This Texas based movie came with a flourish of colorful characters the most interesting of which is a tie between the psychotic murderer played by Javier Bardem or the wizened old sheriff, Tommy Lee Jones. Josh Brolin holds his own as the hero of the story, a blue collar welder and Vietnam vet. The three of them, at separate times, encounter a multitude of the most interesting folks who add color and humor to this otherwise dark and taught thriller.
The plot is riveting. There is a tense cat and mouse game between Brolin’s and Bardem’s characters as they tear through Texan towns in a life or death match. Jones’ sheriff is always a step or two behind them and mystified by the violence left in their wake. The movie is slow and seems practically music-less but at the same time there is an intensity so thick you almost can’t breathe.



Couple the intensity with the brilliant and witty script and the slow feeling to the film works extraordinarily well. Tommy Lee Jones is an example of dry wit at its best. Every line he delivers is full of irony and wisdom. His exchanges throughout the film with different characters are so interesting and entertaining you almost want to rewind the scene and watch it again. Then there is Javier Bardem’s character whose stern looks and deep mildly accented voice sends shivers down your spine. Each and every scene in this film is a work of art and could stand alone as a mini film. It is just brilliantly put together.



My wife hated the film, I offered to turn it off and I would finish it later (I had already seen it in the theaters when it first came out) but she was still so hooked on the plot and the dialogue that she didn’t want to turn it off. And that is just the kind of film I like. It was such a deep film, and it set its own pace, but at the same time it pulls a person in so that even if you don’t like the film you are hooked and you have to see how it ends. This movie is an easy 9 out of 10. It is not the best movie ever made but it is ranked pretty dang high on the scale. I loved No Country for Old Men, it is a film a guy can really sink his teeth into.

Sex/Nudity – A man is cleaning a gunshot wound he has and he sits naked with one leg over the other covering his private area as he cleans his wound. We also see him in a bath tub cleaning his wound. There are no sexual situations. A married man and woman are shown sleeping together but both are clothed. One man makes a reference to his wife about having sex with her.

Violence/Gore – There is a lot of very realistic violence and gore. People get shot in the head, chest, other areas, blood flows freely from the wounds. One man is choked to death with a pair of handcuffs and eventually his neck starts to bleed. One man cleans a free flowing gunshot wound and a lot of blood comes out of the holes in his skin. A lot of dead and decomposing bodies are shown, including a dog riddled with bullet holes. The violence and gore is not over the top or ridiculous or humorous in any way, it is very serious and very realistic.

Profanity – 2 “F” words and a few other expletives.
If the movie was rated on the Sex and Profanity it would have easily been PG-13.