About as fine a movie you can find

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2016)

I never give a movie 10 out of 10 stars when I first see it. The movie needs to GROW to 10 stars (more than likely from a 8 or 9 star movie) over time. The Coen Brothers' NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN has grown into a 10 star movie for me.
Based on the fantastic novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author Cormac McCarthy (The Road), NCFOM tells the story of Texas border town Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in the early 1980's, a man of an "earlier time" who feels that it "doesn't take much to govern good people". Into his world come some NOT so good - and increasingly violent - people which makes Sheriff Bell question whether he belongs in this new world.
At first glance, this movie is a crime thriller/action caper with bad guys fighting bad guys over $2 million in drug money. Caught in the middle of this is hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) who stumbles across - and takes - the money and is hunted by both sides. Violence ensues - and the violence is delivered in increasingly horrific and in a "manner of fact" manner. However, this movie is much, much more than the violence and action which is why this film has elevated in my mind in the 9 years since it was released.
Joel and Ethan Cohen won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for NCFOM - and they are well deserved. This is a strongly written and directed film by 2 filmmakers with a firm vision that they successfully translate to the screen.
On top of this, the Coens continue to shine as strong directors of Actors. Starting with Javier Bardem in his Academy Award winning role as the sinister, scary and intense Anton Chigurh (complete with bad haircut), you can go right down the list to screen stars such as Josh Brolin (probably his finest work) and Woody Harrelson and character actors Garret Dillahunt, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root and Tess Harper - each one hits the right notes. Even Kelly Macdonald, in what could have been a thankless role as Brolin's wife, shines.
But, for me, this film hinges on the success of Tommy Lee Jones portrayal of Sheriff Bell. I don't think it is too overblown to state that this performance is the best of his career. It is a shame he did not get more Academy love. His Ed Tom Bell is solid, confident, weary, beaten down and bewildered all in the turn of a phrase. It is a bravura performance, one that has grown stronger over the years - especially in his closing monologue. You would expect a violent picture like this to end in a blazing shootout, a la Quentin Tarantino, but instead you get a reflective monologue by Jones where he concludes that it really is "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
10 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)