Criminally unsatisfying

Rating: 4/10 (17 September 2008)

The thing is, I get what this film is saying. I get the message. I can read the expressions on Tommy Lee Jones increasingly craggy face. I get that he looks lost. I get that a Josh Brolin who finds a million pounds which belongs to gangsters is playing with fire as he tries to run with it which most of the film dwells on. I get that the contractor pursuing him is a psycho with twisted principles. The film has brilliantly executed moments of tension. The acting is delightfully subtle and passive except for, justifiably, Javier, who plays the psychotic pursuer with such frightening menace that whenever he appears on screen, you will shiver with dread at what he will do next. So why am I giving this 4/10? Simple. The ending was unsatisfying. I get the message of the film. Fine. I value a good ending to a story. If an ending does not satisfy me, morally, I take away a couple of marks. If an ending is too pretentious, I take away even more marks. If you are not fussed with endings, then you will enjoy the film. However, I do not understand why this is rated as Oscar worthy (regardless of what I think of the ending). Its technically accomplished but ultimately shallow save for some great moments of tension. But for a Coen Brothers film this is a major disappointment.