Spring Break
New Coen brothers film gives raw look at violence
BRIAN HUGHES
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Variety
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By infusing humor with gruesome bloodshed, it questions how at ease we are with human carnage and whether we will ever return to the generation of "Old Men," when senseless murder would receive more notice than the ho-hum attitude of today.
The classic everyday man protagonist, hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon $2 million and a heap of dead bodies at a drug deal gone wrong.
He takes the money but is discovered by ghostly assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), which sets up a cat and mouse game ripe with undertones of our rising sadism.
Rocking a terrible bowl cut that would make early Beatles enthusiasts proud, Chigurh leaves a mountain of bodies in his wake and carries out his killings with a cold aloofness that will make the audience squirm.
Let's put it this way: If Gov. Sonny Perdue were to encounter this man, he'd be praying for more than just rain.
As the first gunshot enters the middle of a victim's forehead, it is clear the film will not mask violence but exaggerate the bloodbath - and not merely for the sake of entertainment.
If you get shot, you don't let out a small yelp and crumple to the ground with a petite stain resembling red finger paint.
Perhaps more films of this nature would curb our blasé attitude toward vicious crimes.
"No Country" does not evoke such optimism.
As the moral compass of the film, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is doomed to watch over a generation he does not understand and helpless to slow its insanity.
In an era where virtually all films are labeled as either escapist or art house, the Coen brothers once again have obliterated the mold, crafting their most satisfying film since "Fargo."
Particularly effective is the film's lack of sound, which calls attention to every creak in the floor as Chigurh tip-toes in on his panting prey. I can't recall a silence so deafening.
It is part thriller, part social commentary, all the while remaining true to the genre.
Just when this definitive confrontation is expected, the Coens pull the plug and by resisting the conventional conclusion, they have created a film that extends beyond entertainment to one that makes a dent in the social consciousness of the astute.
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