Remind me never to visit Texas circa 1980.
For those of you who haven't seen No Country for Old Men, it is basically the story of a hunter who stumbles across $2 million and the man who will stop at nothing to get it back. And I mean nothing. Not one thing.
From the start, I feared having an ulcer by the end of the film. Instead, what I got was a depiction of one of my worst nightmares come to life on the silver screen, and a third of the way into the movie, I was so caught off guard that I almost threw up. I tasted it in my mouth and felt like I had been sucker punched in the gut. 12 hours later, I have not fully recovered.
I don't think I have ever seen a movie as scary as this one. The only one to even come close is When a Stranger Calls Back-- a very different film. During No Country, I was in the fetal position 75% of the time and peeking through my fingers 10% of the time. I was very happy that Amanda* and I passed up the chocolate treats. I do not recommend eating during this film.
I had heard that this movie wasn't going to be as funny as some of the Coen brothers' other work, but the people who say that are liars and you should disregard everything they ever have said or will say to you. I laughed many more times than I almost vomited.
I had a similar reaction to seeing Woody Harrelson pop up that I had to Ted Danson in Saving Private Ryan, but I think he did a fine job. Overall, the acting was amazing, the setting was as dusty and yellow brown as you could hope for, and a more genuinely gruesome film would be hard to find.
Even though, or perhaps because, my intestines have yet to recover, I strongly suggest you see this film as soon as you can. It's well worth the big screen viewing. If you liked the woodchipper scene in Fargo, you will love No Country for Old Men.
* Thank you, Amanda, for coming and for driving me home. I don't think I would have survived seeing this alone and then walking by myself up that icy hill. And I'm not being melodramatic. I was so jumpy, any little sound would have pushed me over the edge.
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4 comments:
just saw this for the 2nd time. i liked it more on a second viewing. i think i ruined it for myself the first time for many reasons.
yeah, i just saw it again as well. the one bad thing about it is that it's so good, it makes otherwise decent movies seem trivial and worthless. you get the feeling that those coen bros have a hard time watching other people's movies. oh, and is it just me, or does this movie make you want to watch like every movie tommy lee jones has done: "if it's not, it'll do till the real mess gets here." love it.
i think the second viewing was key just to pay every bit of detail the coen bros do. this movie was pure art. with the second viewing, i got a lot more of the symbolism of what was being said, and little things like why the main dude goes through the hotel feeling walls, slamming open doors, et c. all in all, i loved it. i've yet to meet anyone who didn't like it. thank goodness, too, because i don't think that person could be my friend anymore.
No Country made an impression on me like no other movie since Brokeback Mountain. It has been very hard to let go of the film over the last 24 hours. If I weren't reading such an engrossing book, I think I might go crazy.
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