Rather faithful to the book and therein lies the problem

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2007)

I read the book about two years ago to the day, and I was very excited when I heard the Cohen brothers were filming this. It is my favorite McCarthy book until the last third when he hammers and hammers and hammers in the message about as subtly as Chigur's weapon of choice. I gave the film an 8 because Bardem is a sight to behold. Probably the best villain since 1991 when my two favorite villains of all time appeared on screen within months of each other. Lecter and DeNiro's Cape Fear character. The funny thing is I expect Daniel Day Lewis to outdo Bardem this year but I have yet to see "There Will Be Blood".
I was anticipating this film more than any other this year, so as a result I have to say I was disappointed. Tommy Lee Jones character of Sheriff Bell was hard to get a grasp on. I have to admit I had the same problem with the book. The Cohen's did not improve on that. At the end of the day, Bell is the star of both the book and the movie, though I question if both the book and the movie may have been better if the character did not even exist. I am not alone in this thinking. A lot of people in the theater I watched the film in were baffled and seemed to have felt cheated by the non-Hollywood ending. On guy yelled at the end, "I want my 2 hours back." and someone else chimed in, "I'll just take my money." Me, I didn't feel cheated, but I have to admit to slight befuddlement even after having read the fine book. You have been warned. Don't expect too much or a standard ending, and you won't be too disappointed. There is still a lot to like in this film. The Coen's are masters.