three heads make a better film than one

Rating: 9/10 (10 November 2007)

There is something honorable about a healthy respect for inevitability. Chigurh (Javier Bardem) has that, as does sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), however the latter still struggles with it. Chigurh with steady violent logic has embraced the course of inevitability by removing himself from the nature of his affairs outside of their necessity. "What good is the rule you set for yourself if it has brought you here?" he asks Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) before executing him so to turn and answer the phone. The rules that Chigurh has set for himself are a practical response to the land he inhabits and as proof of their effectiveness he moves easily through the violent border zone. The Sheriff knows these lands well and comes to respect Chigurh as he would a Gila monster. "I wouldn't say he's insane but he has a thick bark on him". Chigurh's silenced shotgun could not have been more appropriate as his rule to leave no witness of his passage requires a certain degree of reserve, and when the necessity to kill is in question the best he humanly do is to defer judgment to a coin toss. Of course fairness has nothing to do with it, but at least heads or tails is a fighting chance.
All credit for the story and the characters is with McCarthy, and can be found in his novel. That cannot be understated. When a series of brutal events handed over a case of money to Moss (Josh Brolin) he was as good as dead. Dead because of what we consider honorable and human in him- his mercy towards a dying man and the love of his wife. In this story those strengths are a hindrance, and are rolled under by that which the sheriff reluctantly observes and Chigurh obeys. That is McCarthy's work. But that it was delivered to you flawlessly on a movie screen, that was all Cowan.
And what a masterstroke of cinema. Everything was done with surgical precision. Lean acting made defined characters set in cinematography that is both beautiful and deliberate with a simple narrative that fenced in a fierce story with its barb wire dialogue. All make for an incredible film that moves across the screen like molten lead.
That said, the strength of No Country as a cinematic work is to be found in the adaptation. The Cowans know the devices of cinema that function apart from the novel and the manner in which they were used to adapt the story is what made this film a success. Without going into detail I'll name a few examples, the absence of music, the adjusted chase scenes, and the remarkable casting are the most obvious, but the stylistic details are numerous and no less effective, and I suggest that to appreciate the brothers talent in this regard you read the book and watch the film again.