The Coen Brother's film No Country for Old Men opens with a narration by Tommy Lee Jones. It sets the pace for the film and draws you into the picture almost immediatly.
Very quickly it is apparent what is happening. Out in the back country of west Texas, a man is arrested by a Sheriff's Deputy, and, before the Deputy can properly incarcerate this man, the Deputy is dead and the man is back on the loose.
That man steals a police car, and soon flags down a passing motorist on a rural highway. His weapon of choice is a cattle gun, used in the process of slaughtering cattle. The motorist is killed by a shot to the head.
This seemingly insane killer is Anton Chigurh, played incredibly well by Javier Bardem. Elsewhere, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), is fixin’ to russle up somethin’ for dinner (he is hunting in the back country) when he stumbles upon a drug trade gone wrong. Everybody is dead, including a dog. One man is still alive, and asks for water, which, Llewelyn refuses.
"No Aqua, no aqua," he says, and continues on his way. Still, there is something odd. The drugs are still there, but... where is the money?
Llewelyn finds the money on a dead man a ways away, and helps himself to it. Big Mistake.
When his conscience gets the better of him, Llewelyn drives back to the site of the massacre with a jug of water. However, the owners of the money are out looking for their money. But it isn’t there. They spot Llewelyn and the chase is on. Chigurh is after Llewelyn.
Between the two, is Ed Tom Bell, local Sheriff. He is trying to solve the murders, stop Chigurh, and save Llewelyn. In what is a deadly game of cat and mouse, the Coen Brothers create tension and fear through the cold blooded eyes and actions of Anton Chigurh, played incredibly, menacingly well by Javier Bardem. Bardem plays such a cold blooded, ruthless murderer that even just a quick look from him sends shivers up your spine.
Bardem is a shoe-in for the Oscar. His character is the best (and worst), the most cunningly smart and smartly written villian to come out of Hollywood since Hannibal Lechter told us that "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti," in The Silence of the Lambs. He is just that evil. Bardem’s performance makes up for the final 1/3 of the film. Without giving anything away, depending on your point of view, you may or may not feel cheated at the end of the picture.
But don’t let that stop you from seeing this Coen Brother’s masterpiece. See it for the performance of Javier Bardem, if for no other reason. His performance turns this film into the best picture of the year.
Movies it was nominated with for Best Picture: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood
Is the movie worth your time to watch?
9/10 29-01-08
Age at win: 38
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men
Nomination: 2/2 (acting), 2/2 (total); Win: Only
In Accepting his Oscar, Javier sad it all: "Wow. Alright, this is very amazing. It's a great honor for me to have this. I want to thank... I have to speak fast here, man. Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think that I could do that and put one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head.
"Thank you for really proving my work. I want to share this with the cast, with the great Tommy Lee Jones, with the great Josh Brolin, with the great Kelly MacDonald. And I want to dedicate this to my mother..."
Yes, one of the worst haircuts I have EVER seen in a movie (Except, maybe, some of those bobs of the 1920s... but that's another story). But that little detail helped Javier's performance stand out.
Bardem's Chigurh was as evil as Hittler and yet as calculating as Hannibal Lechter. His weapon of choice, a cattle gun, is just about the most horrible weapon ever used in a film, but is the trademark of his character and brings him to life like no other villian is recent movie memory.
Two of the worst scenes, scenes that define Bardem's Chigurh character, have him repairing his own, mutilated body. In once scene, he removes buck-shot from his leg; in another, he repairs a broken arm. Amazing, yet horrifying.
Bardem earned his Oscar. Congrats, Javier.
28-09-03
