No Country for Old Men

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2008)

From Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning (and nominated) writer/director brothers Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Raising Arizona) this is certainly a thriller worth watching. Basically in the 1980's, West Texas, Llewelyn Moss (Planet Terror's Josh Brolin) finds the remains of a drug deal gone violently wrong, as well as a suitcase with $2 million, so obviously he's not telling the cops. Doing this, he now has psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Javier Bardem), who will kill almost anyone that gets in his way, and despairing, quite quiet Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (BAFTA nominated Tommy Lee Jones), are both on his tail. There are many intense and gripping scenes as Chigurh gets closer to finding Moss, and there is a lot of blood spill, but the heart of Bell obviously keeps the intensity from becoming too hard to handle. Also starring Woody Harrelson as Carson Wells, Trainspotting's BAFTA nominated Kelly Macdonald as Carla Jean Moss, Garret Dillahunt as Deputy Wendell, Tess Harper as Loretta Bell and Barry Corbin as Ellis. Bardem is superb as the really chilling killer, the ending where Brolin dies, and Bardem gets away, oh, and Jones is talking about some dream he had, is the tiniest bit disappointing. But that doesn't stop this film from being a great thriller from the Coen brothers. It won the Oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published for the Coen brothers, and it was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Sound Editing, it won the BAFTAs for Best Cinematography, and it was nominated for Best Film, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound, and it won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay, and it was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Very good!