The Coen universe is a scary place

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2007)

This latest bloody drama from the Coen Brothers has had a mixed reception and my reaction was mixed also. As they have stuck fairly closely to the original book by Cormac McCarthy, the improbabilities and loose ends are not theirs alone. But the way the story is told, with the outcome of some key scenes left up in the air, and the sudden disposal of key characters, is, frankly, playing with the audience. This is not a movie that stands up well to post-screening analysis. On the other hand, assisted by the harshly beautiful US South West, the cinemaphotography is gorgeous. There are three absolutely stand-out performances, plenty of tension, and a moral message. Though it is a drama rather than a comedy there's also the trademark Coen Bros wry humour, though there is a good deal less here than in, say, "Fargo".
Early on, I thought I was watching a "crime procedural" thriller where the director was focusing on how the hunter/assassin and the criminal/fugitive operated. Will Llewelyn (Josh Brolin), the poor deer shooter who has made off with the dead drug smugglers' $2 million manage to evade Anton (Javier Bardem) the hired assassin with the funny haircut? It becomes apparent that this is unlikely, and the focus shifts to Tommy Lee Jones' character, the aging Sheriff Bell, who is bringing up the rear. Towards the end, the ambiguities, loose ends and implausibilities mount up and the thrust of the story is lost.
Although set in a specific time and place (SW Texas 1980) the story has a timelessness about it. But there is no real hero and the Coen universe seems to have a random quality about it. It's a scary place, and it seems we don't have much say in how things work out. Anton the assassin, the embodiment of evil, is the most determined character in the film. All the Sheriff can do is tag along behind, counting the bodies, though at one point he seems to be close to cracking the case. As for Llewelyn, well, he tries hard, but you can't beat Fate, whether or not it comes with a bad haircut. Not a film for those who like tidy endings.