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| Which is the best Cohen Brothers Film? |
| Fargo |
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14% |
[ 8 ] |
| No Country for Old Men (thanks to chigurh) |
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3% |
[ 2 ] |
| Raising Arizona |
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7% |
[ 4 ] |
| Barton Fink |
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12% |
[ 7 ] |
| Big Lebowski |
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38% |
[ 22 ] |
| Matrix (i couldn't resist) |
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3% |
[ 2 ] |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou |
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8% |
[ 5 ] |
| Miller's Crossing |
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8% |
[ 5 ] |
| Hudsucker Proxy |
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1% |
[ 1 ] |
| Another Cohen's flick |
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1% |
[ 1 ] |
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| Total Votes : 57 |
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TECO
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: |
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| inukshuk wrote: |
| anton chigurh uses the airgun to push out the lock. The lock hits the main character in the forehead. The main character (lou ellen) fires off a shot which hits the door. Lou ellen grabs the loot and jumps out the window (hang drop) |
I enjoyed the film and watched it several times (showing it this week to my students).
QUESTIONS:
Do you think Sheriff Tommy Lee Jones new Chigurh was standing behind the door in the motel room?
I wondered why Chigurh didn't try to kill him when he had the chance.
Also, where were the bullets coming from inside that contraption that Chigurh was walking around with - I don't see that as realistic. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:14 am Post subject: |
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| TECO wrote: |
Also, where were the bullets coming from inside that contraption that Chigurh was walking around with - I don't see that as realistic. |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_bolt_pistol |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:46 am Post subject: |
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| ^^It doesn't fire a projectile, rather a bolt pops out of the end and is retracted after use. |
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BreakfastInBed
Joined: 16 Oct 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:47 am Post subject: |
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[quote="TECO"]
| inukshuk wrote: |
QUESTIONS:
Do you think Sheriff Tommy Lee Jones new Chigurh was standing behind the door in the motel room?
I wondered why Chigurh didn't try to kill him when he had the chance. |
I was baffled by this too. I haven't read the book so I don't know if there is any explanation given there, but after pondering it for awhile I've come up with two possible reasons.
First, from a storytelling standpoint, the whole movie seems to be at least partially constructed around persistently confounding the audience's expectations. From the easy annihilation of the supposedly badass Woody Harrelson character, to the undignified death of Llewellyn after his threatening tough guy movie talk over the telephone, to the abrupt ending, the film refuses to give us what we've come to expect as our due payoffs -the big showdowns, the pat resolutions, what have you. In a way, that quiet, extremely tense scene in the hotel room set up the car crash for me. Sitting there waiting for what I thought was an inevitable confrontation and not being given it, it sunk in that all bets were off. By the time we got to riding in the car with Chigurh I was second guessing myself so much that I ended up caught off guard by the crash even after anticipating it. I saw the traffic lights, I felt like I was behind the wheel, and having seen a lot of movies I anticipated an accident. Then the scene continued just long enough for me to doubt myself given all that had come before... and boom.
Another possibility has to do with Chigurh's character. As is mentioned and demonstrated a number of times in the film, he operates by some mysterious code known fully only to himself. He apparently adheres to it rigorously and we can only assume that killing Tommy Lee Jones would somehow break his code. It's a code that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I think I'd be scared if it did.
Anyway, I'd love to hear other interpretations. |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:04 am Post subject: |
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^That's a valid interpretation. I can't offer one myself as I've only viewed the movie using the links in this thread and feel that I didn't get the full impact as I might have done from having seen it in the cinema or on DVD. I'd like to see it again before I begin to digress about some of the more unanticipated plot twists.
What I will say though is that I think it's always a brave move when movie makers defy viewing expectations. When we're left confused and short-changed with a movie, we're usually forced us to take a second look, more often than not, with a different perspective from our original viewing. I'm looking forward to watching and (hopefully) gaining more from No Country on my second viewing. I can understand people being initially disappointed with the movie, but I'm sure with a couple more viewings peoples opinions will change. |
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TECO
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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| BS.Dos. wrote: |
What I will say though is that I think it's always a brave move when movie makers defy viewing expectations. When we're left confused and short-changed with a movie, we're usually forced us to take a second look, more often than not, with a different perspective from our original viewing.
I'm looking forward to watching and (hopefully) gaining more from No Country on my second viewing. I can understand people being initially disappointed with the movie, but I'm sure with a couple more viewings peoples opinions will change. |
That was really well put. I also started to think more about some of the scenes only after the 2nd and 3rd time of watching parts of the movie again. To me, the ending was just weird.
Another thing that I'm curious about is the meaning of the ending where the Sheriff is sitting at the breakfast table talking to his wife about the deams he had about his father. What's the connection? What's the point? |
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TECO
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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| BreakfastInBed wrote: |
First, from a storytelling standpoint, the whole movie seems to be at least partially constructed around persistently confounding the audience's expectations. From the easy annihilation of the supposedly badass Woody Harrelson character, to the undignified death of Llewellyn after his threatening tough guy movie talk over the telephone, to the abrupt ending, the film refuses to give us what we've come to expect as our due payoffs -the big showdowns, the pat resolutions, what have you.
Another possibility has to do with Chigurh's character. As is mentioned and demonstrated a number of times in the film, he operates by some mysterious code known fully only to himself. He apparently adheres to it rigorously and we can only assume that killing Tommy Lee Jones would somehow break his code. It's a code that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I think I'd be scared if it did. |
Interesting explanation for that and Chigurh's code.
At first I wondered if the Sheriff had actually noticed Chigurh standing behind the door when he went into the motel room and sat on the bed. That scene baffled me. My girlfriend hadn't even noticed that the first time we watched until I told her later. I'm curious how many people actually missed that. |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| BS.Dos. wrote: |
^That's a valid interpretation. I can't offer one myself as I've only viewed the movie using the links in this thread and feel that I didn't get the full impact as I might have done from having seen it in the cinema or on DVD. I'd like to see it again before I begin to digress about some of the more unanticipated plot twists.
What I will say though is that I think it's always a brave move when movie makers defy viewing expectations. When we're left confused and short-changed with a movie, we're usually forced us to take a second look, more often than not, with a different perspective from our original viewing. I'm looking forward to watching and (hopefully) gaining more from No Country on my second viewing. I can understand people being initially disappointed with the movie, but I'm sure with a couple more viewings peoples opinions will change. |
A good movie does not require multiple viewings. I wonder if it's a ploy to sell more tickets or simply poor film-making. |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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@Dogbert
I'd disagree. I think all good movies command additional viewings. I don't subscribe to the idea that every plot twist or character trait should be fully appreciated after one viewing. Far from it. Some of my favorite movies, (Blade Runner and Heat to name two), have all required additional viewings and in respect of the former, I'd be a liar if I said I figured everything out on my own after one viewing.
When I was watching No Country I was doing so from the perspective of Moss. Afterall, he was the good guy, the one we we're all routing for. He was supposed to win and come through at the end with both the money and the girl, but he didn't and when he was dispensed so nonchalantly, as a viewer, we feel let down, which is initially exactly how I felt . It's very difficult to route for the bad guy when the two central protagonist (Moss and Chigurh) are so obviously polarised, but I think more can be drawn from the movie if we view from Chigurh's perspective rather than from Mosses.
The ending of No Country remind me of the last episode of the Sopranos and how perplexed I was then, but after watching it again (and again as it turned out) I found my initial disappointment gave way to different feelings and (consequently) changed my opinions about how things actually ended i.e. Tony probably was whacked. I haven't watched No Country for a second time yet, but I think there are a few more layers to it that weren't so transparent after just one viewing.
Last edited by BS.Dos. on Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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crescent
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: yes.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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^^^
I thought the ending was a fresh smack in the face that 'woke me up' from typical Hollywood trash.
It left me THINKING.
Chighur won. He is unstoppable. A new evil had presented itself.
The old sheriff woke up and realized the world had changed. He retired from a business that he could no longer effectively manage. |
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TECO
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I just read a reviewer who said something like this is about how their is good and evil in the world and the reality is that evil often wins! 
And it looks like in the end Chigurh got away, albeit with a bone sticking out of his arm! aha!! |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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@BS DOS, fair point, but Blade Runner was a far better film. Heat absolutely blows No Country out of the water. And I say that as someone who has seen both Blade Runner and Heat several times.
I seriously doubt that No Country will improve with multiple viewings or become more profound or reveal important and subtle philosophical shadings. This is because for this film, there literally is no "there" there. |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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The essence of No Country can be summed up thusly.
Moss: "I found a lot of money, but must do something stupid that no one in real life would do in order to get the plot of this film going."
Moss' wife: "OK"
........
Tommy Lee Jones: "Ah'm tard."
Tommy Lee Jones' wife: "OK"
........
Chigurh: "So, you married in to this business."
Rube: "If you say so."
Chigurh: "Flip a coin."
........
Woody Harrelson: [obligatory meaningless cameo #423]
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Moss: "I know what you look like and I have plans for you."
[dies]
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Tommy Lee Jones: "You've got a lot of *beep*."
Old-guy-who-used-to-be-on-Northern Exposure: "This country is hard on people -- Injuns killed your grandpappy."
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Chigurh to 13-year-old boy: "I'll pay you to take your shirt off."
13-year-old boy: "I'd give it up free for you, mister."
........
Tommy Lee Jones: "I had a dream, I had an awesome dreeeeeeeeam. My pappy is in heaven and he left the lights on."
Tommy Lee Jones' wife: "OK"
THE END
If the 30-second Bunny Theater makes a version of this, it will be vastly more entertaining than the actual film. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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dogbert--
I loved the movie personally, but I also really liked your take on it!  Cheers! |
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gypsyfish
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:19 am Post subject: |
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I liked No Country, but it's not near as good as some other Coen Brother's movies.
It's strange because I thought all the performances were excellent. The woman who played Moss' wife was fantastic. The scene when Chigur first plays the coin flip game was worth the price of admission and better than many movies, but the ending needed something. I'm not even sure what. You can have great movies where evil triumphs - Silence of the Lambs for one and even the Kevin Costner movie Mr Brooks (though I liked No Country better, I found Mr Brooks' ending more satisfying).
No Country for Old Men = very good.
Miller's Crossing = excellent. |
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