It's good enough to be great

Rating: 7/10 (26 October 2007)

First of all I have to admit that I'm a hopeless adherer of Coen movies. So to all the folks who basically don't like 'em: better skip my comment simply because it might not be objective in every sense.
I watched the movie yesterday at the Vienna International Film Festival and I must say it is awesome in many ways. The actors (and not only Javier Bardem whom I totally admire since his portrayal of Ramón Sampedro in Mar Adentro)are superb. Tommy Lee Jones as aging Sheriff and Josh Brolin as the one who kicks off the whole mess. Their performances are outstanding and even Scottish Kelly Macdonald, whom I still remember as delightful Diana in Trainspotting, was pretty convincing as Texan trailer-girl.
Back to the mess: And there is plenty of mess in that movie for sure. Counting dead bodies is almost a Sisyphean task. So don't even try. By the way, apart of a dead dog, that actually looks more like a stuffed potato, the bodies are really well prepared. Also a scene where the psychic killer (Bardem) is operating on his own leg looks pretty real and gives you the creeps. But it's not only blood and violence as some critics have found fault. There is much more of course. It's the irony and sharpness that lies in every spoken line and joke. As in earlier masterpieces by the Coen brothers this combination of brutality, irony and every day life brings flavor to the movie. It's set in the amazingly beautiful countryside of the US-American south. And images of slowly hovering clouds are a welcome variation of otherwise rather cruel pictures.
What the movie maybe lacks a bit is deepness of the plot. I mean don't get me wrong the plot is fun and all but it's not quite the story of Fargo or The Big Lebovsky. Though one might argue that the plot isn't the most important part of a Coen movie, which is probably even true, I find it worth to mention that they have already written better screenplays.
To sum up, though the film is not as consistent in all possible aspects, as some of their earlier work has been, the created ambiance is definitely worth spending some bucks for two hours of splendid 'coenic' cinema feeling.
Watch it and convince yourselves. It's good enough to be great!