No Country for Old Men

BryantStanton said:
My friends and I talked about it the whole ride home. I was very excited for this film,
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Same with my buddy and myself...and on the whole we both enjoyed it very much, though there was a tinge of wanting more substantial closure that we felt now and again. Just a few scenes had us wondering...

The scene with TLJ showing up at the motel where Moss was killed and entering the room was a bit puzzling...was Anton not in the room hiding? Did TLJ (Bell) assume that when he saw the air duct cover on the floor, that AC (Bardem) had already come and gone?

When AC confronts Moss' wife (Macdonald), she says she doesn't have the money...but AC does not mention anything as to it already having been recovered. Since he is a man of principle, and he was hired by Stephen Root to find the dough, who would he have returned it to after having killed Root? (or did I miss something there?).

How much time had transpired between Moss and the poolside chick talking, and the shot of the pickup pulling away when Bell shows up? I guess not much, since she was dead in the pool...did the guys show up while he was still chatting, and gunplay broke out?

I thought Kelly Macdonald did a nice little job in the film and Woody Harrelson was spot on in his little part...you could see it in his face when AC had him in his room, Wells knew he was going to die, and you could tell he thought it sucked. Telling AC that he had no idea just how crazy he was really was classic.

I think we have been conditioned as north american audiences to expect the ending films to be neatly tied up and explained...this ending just sort of happened, like everything else in the movie.

Maybe it is sort of european, or maybe they were just being true to the source material...I want to read this book now.
 
DeSica said:
When AC confronts Moss' wife (Macdonald), she says she doesn't have the money...but AC does not mention anything as to it already having been recovered. Since he is a man of principle, and he was hired by Stephen Root to find the dough, who would he have returned it to after having killed Root? (or did I miss something there?).
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SPOILER


















chigurh already had the money by then, but had "promised" moss that he could save his wife if he stopped running, and moss didn't stop running.
 
Zak Forsman said:
SPOILER








chigurh already had the money by then, but had "promised" moss that he could save his wife if he stopped running, and moss didn't stop running.
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Right...but who did he return it to? Or would his principles have lapsed then, allowing him to keep it? That just would seem out of character, since he likes to keep his promises and finish his jobs....
 
My friend and I, on an impulse today, just drove down to LA and saw this at the arclight. I loved this film. Definitely one of the best films this year. It has lived up to the hype for me, and even surpassed it. The pacing, the cinematography, the acting--all spot on. I felt the ending was fitting.

SEMI-SPOILERS

















I almost half-expected a Silence of the Lambs confrontation at the end in the hotel room, but was glad it didn't happen. It felt much more appropriate. Ed's dream story was very poignant.
 
++++++++SPOILERS++++++++



DeSica said:
Right...but who did he return it to? Or would his principles have lapsed then, allowing him to keep it? That just would seem out of character, since he likes to keep his promises and finish his jobs....
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Well he can't return it to anyone because he killed them. For me, it was like his twisted ideals made him go after the money, not for himself, not for anyone, just because that is who he is and what he is about.

With his hair cut and clothing, I doubt he is out for personal gains. :grin:
 
The suspense in that film was definitely some of the best I've ever seen. I loved every bit of it and the eurotrash ending didn't bother me at all. I was captivated because when I was a little kid I spent a lot of time thinking "what would I do and how long could I last if I just found a case of money somewhere?" ohhhh man what a treat watching that play out. A+
 
Me too. I always wonder what I'd do if I found some drug dealer's or bank robber's money.
I never thought about how they tracked the case. I better re-think my plan!!

It was a good movie. The ending had a deeper meaning to it. His dreams, his dad, God, getting old, etc.


But was the bad guy in the motel room? Wasn't a big room. Where was he hiding?
 
Zim said:
But was the bad guy in the motel room? Wasn't a big room. Where was he hiding?
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Behind the door, methinks. When TLJ and AC are looking at the deadbolt, his POV was on the other side of the door in the corner (so he was blocked when the door was open).

When TLJ was in the bathroom, he looked at the lock on the window. I had a feeling he was going to unlock the window, leave the room, then reenter through the window and blast AC.

I just saw it last night. I'm still not sure what to think.
 
I saw it last night too. Well at 4pm on Friday afternoon. It was packed. It is playing at the old theater in town. (used to be the porn theater) Not a chain mulitplex. Great sound in this theater. I heard the mulitplex was pissed because they didn't get it first.

Anyone know why it went out on a limited release?

Trudd I'm just going to have to see it again I guess.
 
--KINDA SPOILERS--

After reading most of this thread earlier today I decided to go see the film. I caught a few post about the European ending(while trying to avoid the spoilers). I had no idea it would be this disappointing. Was it a decent movie? Yeah. Did I feel any sympathy for any of the characters? Not really. Am I pissed you guys hyped it up way beyond what I felt it deserved? YES. To each his own though. The good thing is right when I put my head in my hands and said "oh god" thinking "how much longer will this go on" it ended. I was the first out of the theater. Partially because I know what a European ending means. Rest of the people were like WTF. LOL.
 
You know what... I gotta' disagree Stylz... you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I respect that... but I think that over time you will realize how good this movie really was. This thing is going to open up like an onion for years (for many people).

I gotta' say... it was pretty much brilliant. My girlfriend didn't really lock onto it. She pretty much sees it as a mediocre film at best.

I, on the other hand, loved it... well... maybe not "loved it"... but I was in awe at the effectiveness of the storytelling combined with what appeared to be a super-low budget approach. I'm sure that this is partly an illusion... but it sure looked like they made a great movie on a shoe-string.

OK... if we aren't past SPOILER WARNINGS THEN HERE'S ANOTHER ONE NOW!









Didn't TLJ's character tell a story about a ruthless murderer that he put in jail as a kid? That guy is Chigurh, right? He put a man in jail that would be sent to the chair and that guy "was out in 15 minutes"? This is Chigurh right? Why else would TLJ tell this story at the opening of the film? I think it's to define a ruthless killer who is also so smart that he is out of jail in 15 minutes.

OK... next. I think that in the motel room... that is the moment that TLJ is referring to in his description of his dream. I think that TLJ realized, either ON THE SPOT, or else perhaps later... that Chigurh had him. When he flipped on the light in the bathroom and saw that the window was locked... and then looked down at the vent... what was he thinking?

EDITED TO ADD: After seeing the movie again... Chigurh killed Stephen Root's character because he hired the mexicans and then also Woody Harrellson's character (can't remember the names, sorry)... Stephen Root inconvenienced Chigurh.

Unfortunately I'm now unclear about the ending... the significance of TLJ's dream as it relates to the whole story.
 
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SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!




Chigurh is not the kid in TLJ's story at the start of the film, but he was defining what killers are like.


The vent was open because that is where Moss stashed the case of money.
 
Why does TLJ say that the teenager that he sent to the chair "was out in 15 minutes"? What's the relevance?

Another thing I liked about this movie is the parrallels drawn between Moss and Chigurh with the first thing we hear from them, "stand still" [so that I can kill you].
 
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I think it's funny that people are talking about a "European" ending when the Coen brothers have such a uniquely American film voice. It may not be Hollywood formula style, but I still think it's very American.

When TLJ is at the motel room, there is no way that Anton Chigurh is in the room at the same time. TLJ is a smart and experienced officer--there is no possible way he would miss a huge killer in a tiny motel room. There is also no way that Chigurh would avoid trying to kill TLJ if he saw him. So where does that leave us?

The shot of the locked bathroom window makes it clear that Chigurh had to leave the room using the front door. Maybe the cross-cut shots of TLJ and Chigurh hiding in the shadows are staggered in time, so the hiding took place before TLJ arrived and Chigurh has already left. When TLJ is seeing the reflection in the punched out lock, maybe he's imagining it, or it symbolizes the fact he can't keep up with Chigurh.

What about the C/U shot of the vent grate and the coin. Coins and chance are one of the film's motifs. The coin tells us that Chigurh removed the grate because he did it before using a coin. The coin is symbolic of the 50% or random probablility of an event taking place. This is a little strange, but I wonder if the motel room setup is like the Schrödinger's cat experiment. Before TLJ enters the room there is a 50% probability of Chigurh being present. Both simultaneous states exist--Chigurh there and Chigurh aleady gone, until TLJ opens the door and that act flips the state to one condition.

Whatever the case, I think the scene symbolizes the fact that TLJ can no longer keep up with the unfolding events.
 
EDIT: My apologies for my previous post Barry... I think your analysis is possibly brilliant. I saw the movie again and I can totally see your take on it.
 
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You are confused about the dialogue, here is what TLJ said at the start of the movie about the killer:

Said he knew he was going to hell. Be
there in about fifteen minutes. I don't
know what to make of that. I surely don't.
 
Haha--I have to see it again too. Sorry, but there is no possible way that Chigurh is still in that tiny motel room when TLJ is inside. They would have had to establish that TLJ is a bumbling moron on the level of Barney Fife if we're going to believe that the huge Chigurh has outfoxed TLJ by hiding behind the door. Coins are associated with a very powerful symbolism, so I don't think it's just a tool in this context. TLJ on the bed, slumped, tired, confused--is his defeat.
 
Barry_S said:
The shot of the locked bathroom window makes it clear that Chigurh had to leave the room using the front door. Maybe the cross-cut shots of TLJ and Chigurh hiding in the shadows are staggered in time, so the hiding took place before TLJ arrived and Chigurh has already left. When TLJ is seeing the reflection in the punched out lock, maybe he's imagining it, or it symbolizes the fact he can't keep up with Chigurh.
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That may have been the case if we only saw TLJ looking at the reflection, but we also see Chigurh looking at the keyhole as well.

Plus I just looked at the script and it says Chigurh is still inside.
 
Barry_S said:
Haha--I have to see it again too. Sorry, but there is no possible way that Chigurh is still in that tiny motel room when TLJ is inside. They would have had to establish that TLJ is a bumbling moron on the level of Barney Fife if we're going to believe that the huge Chigurh has outfoxed TLJ by hiding behind the door. Coins are associated with a very powerful symbolism, so I don't think it's just a tool in this context. TLJ on the bed, slumped, tired, confused--is his defeat.
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TLJ is a chicken, an old man and this aint no country for him. He thinks that in the olden days, there was no need for a gun. However, we find out things have always been the same when he talks to his family member. He even pulled out his gun when going in and he knew Chigurh was in there from the reflection. He knew that he had come back and got the money and he knew that he had not ran out the back window. Just like the ending of the film, TLJ didn't go in there with a bang, but with a wimper.
 
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