No Country is Coen's Collaboration

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2009)

The winner of 2007 Best Picture from the Academy Awards. This marked the 4th consecutive year the Oscars would put a film from modern times in the winning position. This film was from Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Vantage. This was also the Coen Brothers' 12th film, the violent thriller-drama and contemporary western chase movie No Country for Old Men (with eight nominations, including four wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor), an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel about a hunter (Josh Brolin) who stole cash from a bad drug deal and then was relentlessly pursued. It was the Coen's first film based entirely on a novel.
The Coen brothers always turn out a quality film even when sections of their films are hit and miss. For the most part the Coens have taken stories and moved in any direction that they wanted. This is the first film that has followed a novel where they were bound by the story. Every bit of this movie works and the mark of both Joel and Ethan are not lost. Even though the violence level is high, it is always to propel the story. Josh Brolin is excellent but the real talent here is the adaptation of the story in the screenplay and the direction. ****/****.