|
|
Ron Miller's DARK CORRIDORS VOL. 8, No. 47 |
|
"NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"  |
A masterful thriller about
unrelenting modern evil
of TheColumnists.com
If you throw away the frustrating, disappointing ending, The Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men," adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel, is the best modern thriller since the original "Cape Fear."
From the opening moments, when small timer Josh Brolin stumbles into the bloody carnage of a shoot-out between dope smugglers and their would-be robbers on the moonlit desert of the American southwest, this film is a roller coaster ride of terror.
You see, while poking around among the corpses of men and animals, Brolin finds a suitcase full of money. The only victim of the shootout still breathing is a gut-shot Mexican who can only say "Agua," begging Brolin to give him some water. Brolin can't be bothered right then because he knows that suitcase full of big bills isn't going to be left to rot in the desert very long. He takes a hike.
From that moment on, Brolin is on the run, pursued by vicious, kill-crazy drug outlaws who simply have no mercy for anyone. The main hunter, though, is a very special brand of monster--a cold-blooded Latino (Javier Bardem) who carries around a compressed air-driven weapon that can blow your lock right out of your door--or, for that matter, punch a hole in your forehead big enough to let a woodpecker in while your brain matter is running out.
Lawman Tommy Lee Jones gets on Brolin's trail, but he's always several miles behind the relentless Latino, even though the fellow squanders a good bit of time now and then because he likes to flip a coin for your life once he corners you. If you don't call "heads or tails," he blows you away anyway, so most people end up playing along with his game.
Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin, is having a very big year. He seems an almost certain supporting actor Oscar nominee for his role as the corrupt New York City cop in "American Gangster." He's equally good in "No Country For Old Men," playing a desperate soul who gambles everything on his ability to hide from the killers on his trail. He's cocky and clever, but Brolin little by little lets us see how scared he's getting as the big Latino narrows the distance between them.
The film really is stolen, though, by Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who earned an Oscar nomination for 2004's "The Sea Inside," that year's Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film, for playing real-life quadriplegic Ramon Sampedro, fighting for the right to end his life. Bardem's character is so blatantly evil that all he has to do is turn his baleful eye in your direction and you shiver. If ever a film had a surefire menace to keep moviegoers sweating for two hours, Bardem is the man.
Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen are past masters of this sort of diabolical chase noir thriller and it's their best since "Blood Simple," the 1984 suspense film that made their reputation.
But I have to warn you that the ending of the film will make your jaw drop with bewilderment. I haven't read McCarthy's novel, so possibly they're just sticking with his original storyline, but here's a situation where they should have come up with their own better ending. This one is like they're spitting in your eye, a practice I don't especially like when I'm the spittoon.
©2007 by Ron Miller. The illustration is courtesy of Miramax Pictures. This column first posted Dec. 3, 2007.
Ron
Miller is a former nationally syndicated television columnist
and the author of "Mystery! A Celebration," the official
companion book to PBS' "Mystery!" series. He currently
writes about television mysteries for MYSTERY SCENE magazine.
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Ron Miller. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Ron's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
|
|
|
Archives |
|
|