Tuesday, February 26, 2008

No Country for Old Men

I was excited to see that No Country for Old Men received four major awards at the Oscar Night. The other day I saw the film. It is an understated, austere and hard hitting film with some great performances. The movie will perhaps be most remembered for Javier Bardem's villainy. His spine chilling performance raises the bar to new high. He was rightly rewarded with an Oscar for best performance in a supporting role. Tommy Lee Jones, the oscar winning actor has a low key role wherein he plays a Sheriff of desert town, who is always several steps behind the killer.

No Country for Old Men is about money, greed and violence and ultimately about the futility of it all. The saddest part of the story is when an innocent women gets entangled and pays a heavy price in the cat and mouse game between the ruthless psychopathic killer (Bardem) and the guy (Brolin) who unwittingly gets involved in a major drug deal that goes sour. Brolin plays a laidback guy in a small town who, while hunting in the desert, chances upon a huge sum of money. Brolin's performance of man pitted against a dangerous and ruthless killer, displays amazing fortitude, courage in the face of adversity. There is a certain vulnerability and innocence to his performance that is both endearing and heartbreaking. He takes the money that is lying around and dares to think that he can get away. His conscience troubles him for leaving a dying man in the desert without water. He goes back later with water and pays dearly for this act of charity.

No Country for Old Men portrays a territory where the good does not necessarily win over evil. Brolin who is chased by the killer is also not the sparkling white face of good. The end is quite unfair and heartbreaking, but then it perhaps is truly symptomatic of the world that we live in.

No Country for Old Men is a gritty tale of hope and betrayal of the same. In cinematic terms it is a major achievement for the Coen brothers who got the Oscar for best direction.