No Country for Old men

An old hunter gets entangled in a botched drug deal. The old hunter comes upon the dealer’s money and takes it for himself. Running from both cartel and bounty hunter alike, the old man is forced into the hunt to stake a claim on the cartel’s fortune. 

The Coen brothers come together to create a film that is both gritty and heart pounding. The film takes place near the Mexico border in Texas during the 80’s. The look of the film is rustic and gritty with an old time feel with the color choices and rural locations. The choices in camera work is well done and paces the film well from beginning to end. Many of the characters within the film aren’t well developed but the audience does get a sense of who they are. 

Rural, wide open areas in the beginning of the film create a sense of the location, time, and even the characters without having to say or do much at all. The story is not spoon fed to the audience but the story comes across as straight forward and fairly easy to understand. A man comes across a gruesome scene of death and carnage in the wake of an apparent firefight between two drug cartels. The story begins to take off from there as the main character is now stuck in a game of cat and mouse. The story progresses into the chase and the film continues its consistent gritty feel with rundown locations and the look of the characters. The mystery of the main antagonist, Anton Chigurh, aids the film as well. The audience is exposed to his violent nature early in the film but his personality fluctuates making the audience ask “What is he going to do next?” The character of Chigurh is the opposite of Moss, the main protagonist of the film. Moss is the working man’s man whom the audience can identify with making them want to see him succeed. The film benefits from the interesting cast of characters, such as Moss and Chigurh, and the performance becomes the main selling point of the film. Although the film is well structured and well-cast, the main flaw with the film is pacing. The film begins on a roller-coaster arcing from action to reaction but the film begins to bog down in a bid to character develop  a few unimportant characters such as Chigurh’s rival Carson Wells and his employer.  Aside from the flaw of the film’s pacing, the film itself is a solid viewing experience.