No Movie for Old Ladies

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2007)

There were 3 old ladies in front of me at the showing I attended. I had to tell them to shut up twice and they couldn't seem to stomach the scenes with people attending to and giving other people wounds. So if you're an old lady, stay home for the sake of your fellow movie fans.
Somehow I was still able to focus on what I consider to be one of the best films of this year. I'm a fan of the Coen brothers work. I think most of us are. I think this is one of their best films and the thing is they've only got a couple bad ones, otherwise everything is excellent. This one is part 'Blood Simple' and part 'The Man Who Wasn't There' and a pinch of 'Raising Arizona'. But also it's completely new and very much it's own movie.
What we have here is a bad guy, a truly bad dude, played by Javier Bardem, who is also a type of hybrid. Half Michael Myers and half Leonard Smalls. Honestly if someone cut my hair like that I might turn out like that too. But Mr. Bardem does a great job playing this psycho, who is compelled to be exactly the way he is. I could get into what I think his motivations are but I'm not into spoiling things.
Josh Brolin is having a great year. He is the star of this film and you find yourself rooting for him, but I'm not exactly sure why. He's no boy scout either. He gets himself into a whole mess of trouble and most of this movie is spent seeing how he will get out of it.
Tommy Lee Jones does the best acting I think I've seen him do. He plays the local law enforcement and seems just gobsmacked by how quickly the world around him is advancing in the wrong direction. He sees the big picture in all of this when most people would probably just look at this as a case of one crime and one psycho. I expect an Oscar nomination for Jones at least.
Then there is Kelly McDonald who I thought did a great job playing Brolin's wife. I think she should also be recognized mainly for one scene late in the film. She's Scottish and you'd never know it watching this.
The Coen brothers have created a classic film here. The reason I say that is that apart from having an overall story and movie that is outstanding, in my opinion, to have a classic film you have to have iconic scenes. There are two scenes that as a movie fan I was very impressed with and that are going to stay with me for a while. One comes early in the film when Josh Brolin his being pursued aggressively. Another comes toward the middle in a tension-filled showdown, where the audience has to read the signs of what's happening and what decisions should be made moment to moment as if you're going through it yourself. At least I felt that way. And this film is full of subtlety, which is why it reminds me of 'The Man Who Wasn't There'. That film was so deliberate and really beautiful and I believe they've gone one step further with 'No Country for Old Men'. This has great acting, it's suspenseful and even thought-provoking.
I would suggest this film for people who can handle some violent scenes and who can sit still and really pay attention for a couple of hours. If you can, you shall be rewarded.