The writing and directing is strong in this modern day western. The Coen brothers may have perfected a new genre here and they've certainly shown their range of skill in making this movie.
There is not enough room on this hacks blog to properly give the performances in No Country their due. Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin were truly great as were many others.
Why not a $10 rating? Mostly I didn't give this one the perfect value rating because of the truly awful (albeit brief) performance of Beth Grant near the end of the movie. Her part was the most out of place and poorly executed bit part in movie history.
Otherwise No Country for Old Men is a truly incredible movie and well worth its $9 rating and being on my 'Watch It' list.
11 comments:
I agree - the men in the movie were terrific (particularly Bardem and Jones) but Beth Grant was horribly miscast. And Kelly MacDonald was not good either - she's Scotish and just didn't carry the part very well. I loved the rest of the film
I though MacDonald was alright but Grant's character felt like a cartoon character dropped in for a couple scenes.
i have to say that this film (a)effected me more than i thought it would. to me it was so much more than a typical western. it dealt with fate, destiny, and all that fun stuff. i did think that bardem shouldn't have gotten the oscar however and casey affleck should of. not to take away from his performance which was awesome. dave...100% agreed.
I think the unique way this movie ended is what did it for me. What a great flick! Great review Toni.
nathan, agreed. Bardem was great but Casey deserved an Oscar this year for sure. I also agree that No Country was far mor than ust a typical western.
Trev, great ending for sure, thanks for the comment.
I would like to open a can of worms in regard to the western genre. I think it is totally overlooked by most. Just watch 'the wild bunch' or 'hud' great western, and modern western cinema is plentiful. Though I don't really agree that No Country is really a straight up western.
Let me join the Casey fan club. He should have won the Oscar, but Bardem was a worthy pick. Maybe this year will be Casey's time to shine.
As for NCFOM, I've been itching to see it a second time. With a good Coen Bros film, you can find something new in it with every viewing.
Help me out here and play IMDb for me: who is Beth Grant, and what character was she? There weren't many women, so I'm guessing she was McDonald's mother? Didn't bother me much either way.
Otherwise, I pretty much agree, though I've gone on ad nauseum about the ending in general. I loved the first 90 minutes, though.
@Fletch - You're right, she was McDonald's mother. Claims NC as her home and is a grad of East Carolina University (school near my hometown). I would call her a "That Gal" since she is frequently called upon to play the nosy/annoying yokel or hoity-toity type person a la NCFOM, Saved, Little Miss Sunshine, Speed, and so on.
I've been wanting to do a write-up on her. Sounds like the demand may be there. :-)
Aahh! She's the Sparkle Motion lady from Donnie Darko. Shame on me for not recognizing her. I suck.
fletch, you got it, that's her. I loved her in Donnie Darko so it wasn't about her and for all I know she may have played her character in No Country exactly how she was asked to. It just didn't fit in for me.
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