bewitching, profound, immortal

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2008)

Are there any superlatives left for this film? The Coen Brothers take mighty risks in adapting McCarthy's nihilistic novel for the screen. Those of us who are Beginning-Middle-End type film-goers will be slapped around the head by the iconoclastic narrative structure of this film. And yet there are two types of film that deserve the mantle of greatness; those that have you leave the theatre asking questions, and those, not unrelated, that make you want to watch again. No Country is both.
Historians, with the benefit of hindsight, will look back and tell us that unforgiving wars, peak oil, and/or economic uncertainty gave rise to such bleak visions. Locked in the present, we can only gaze upon such images and think, "Yes, this is how it is is." I hated the ending. I invested so much in Llewelyn Moss, and felt cheated. I did not want to spend time beyond his demise with Chigurh. But I am open to the thought that my investment may have been misguided. The Coens clearly invite you to look again. I will.
It is a privilege to be there when artists take their work to the next level. No Country has pushed the boundaries of film-making. A product of its time, or timeless? Future generations will decide.