no masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (24 August 2019)

This has acquired the aura of a classic, making me feel I should give it another go. But no, I was right the first time. Though the action is tense and exciting, the characters and dialogue cool, and no doubt lots of people find its heartlessness a guilty pleasure, the film ultimately leads nowhere; how can you simply throw away your two main characters and expect to maintain interest? Its origin as a novel is evident in the irritating editorialising about life at the end. It's not a bad film but it's no masterpiece, not the Coens' best work, and definitely not a Western (just having cowboy hats doesn't make it a Western!).