No Country for Old Men

"What's this guy supposed to be, the ultimate badass?"
It's almost the end of November and I think I've finally found myself the best movie of 2007. While there is still a month to go and plenty of Oscar-fare left to see, I doubt anything can top No Country for Old Men. It may not have the soul-stirring edginess of Gone, Baby, Gone or the action-packed slickness of 3:10 to Yuma but it does have two things no other film has this year: Joel and Ethan Coen.

The Coen brothers have kicked out some of the quirkiest cinematic gems of the past 20 years, but after two critical and box-office flops (Intolerable Cruelty and The Lady Killers) in the last few years, I began to wonder if the creative pool was drying out. Perhaps that's the reason I was so enamored with No Country. It proved my theory wrong and with a vengeance. Like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, No Country is a world more than it is a film. While the movie is not based on an original screenplay (it was adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name) you can't help but feel as though this story was written solely for the purpose of becoming a Coen brothers film some day. From the sound design and cinematography to the wardrobe and locations, every element of the film plays a key part in bringing this fictional world to life. Some people reduce the Coens' success to their skills as writers and the talented people they cast in their films. However, it is so important to realize how brilliant they are as filmmakers. Only a true visionary can take a simple story and turn it into something palpable.

Now I couldn't write a review of No Country without calling attention to the cast. Every actor in this film, whether in a bit part or a starring role, is fantastic. I give Joel and Ethan Coen mad props for making some rather unconventional choices in the casting decision. Here's a quote from an interview Entertainment Weekly did with Javier Bardem that illustrates precisely what I mean:

"When the Coens called, I said, 'Listen, I'm the wrong actor. I don't drive, I speak bad English, and I hate violence.' They laughed and said, 'Maybe that's why we called you.'"

The Coen brothers have a great knack for knowing when an actor will absolutely nail a character and their decision to cast Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is no exception. Chigurh is one of the strangest and most haunting individuals in recent cinematic history and much of that is because his appearance is so off-putting. He doesn't look or sound anything like your typical psycho-killer and I give a lot of credit to both the Coens and Bardem for putting so much thought into the portrayal of Chigurh. Bardem gives the character this sort of soft-spoken madness that is extremely scary to watch yet at the same time totally fascinating.

I also love that they cast Josh Brolin as the protagonist, Llewelyn Moss. This seems to be Josh Brolin's year (he's had starring roles in Grindhouse and American Gangster) but before 2007 he was pretty much the guy that was hired for the bit role because he was cheap. Brolin is not a critically acclaimed actor nor does he have box-office appeal. The Coens really took a chance giving him such an important role and I think it paid off beautifully. Brolin has a fantastic every-man quality and as Llewelyn Moss, he reminded me a lot of the great leading men of '60s and '70s Westerns.

Tommy Lee Jones is flawless as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell which shouldn't surprise anyone. What I really loved about his character was how similar it felt to Frances McDormand's Marge Gunderson in Fargo. Sheriff Bell is the glimmer of hope amongst all the bloody chaos and nihilism, and while the film doesn't make any attempt to provide resolution or closure, he is the one element that allows you to walk away feeling slightly optimistic. I attribute that not only to the greatness of the character as it was written but also to the warmth and compassion Tommy Lee Jones brings to the role.

I don't think there's anything left to say other than that everyone should see this movie as soon as is humanly possible. Yes, ticket prices are indeed ridiculous and you probably feel like you should be spending your hard earned dough on blockbusters rather than indie fare. However, I still encourage you to see No Country for Old Men in the theater because crappy popcorn movies will always be playing on the big screen but a classic Coen brothers film will not.

Gone Baby Gone

I think it's safe to say that this is the best film I've seen since Million Dollar Baby and that one shook me to the core. The thing I love the most about cinema is that you absolutely can never predict how a film is going to affect you. There's no rhyme or reason behind it. You just walk out of a theater moved, haunted, and changed without ever knowing what hit you. It's an indescribably beautiful phenomenon.

So can I even begin to put into words why I loved Gone Baby Gone so much? Well I'm here posting about it so I guess I should try. First and foremost, Casey Affleck's performance. Whenever I think about the expressions, or lack of expressions on his face, and the sad desperation in his voice, it gives me chills. Maybe it's knowing that he was being directed by his brother that makes the difference. I felt Casey's absolute dedication to getting this character right come out of every second he was on the screen.

And that brings me to the direction, the second biggest highlight of the film for me. I honestly had to keep reminding myself that Ben Affleck was the man behind it all. This is truly a tour de force for him. I loved how understated the performances were and how he was able to tap into the complexity of these characters without reducing any of them to stereotypes. By the end of the film you simply could not decide who was right and who was wrong even though every person in one way or another had done something terrible to someone else. I love a film that doesn't insult its audience by trying to convince it that the world is only one kind of place. While Gone Baby Gone does deal with the dichotomy of good versus evil and everyone's own personal system of ethics, I don't consider it to be a morality play. You never get the feeling that the film is being preachy and you certainly don't walk away with any answers.

Ben Affleck's direction and filmmaking style reminded me a lot of Clint Eastwood's which explains why this film had a similar effect on me that Million Dollar Baby had. I'm not sure if it's that Affleck and Eastwood were actors before becoming directors but I feel with both of them that there is this life force behind their films. And I don't mean that in a "man behind the curtain" kind of way where it's obvious someone is pulling the strings throughout. I mean that you can feel how dedicated they are to telling a story. When you look at every decision that had to be made by the director, i.e. who to cast as extras, how to light a scene, when to cut away, when not to cut away, when to push an actor to his/her limits, you realize how much a film is really a child born out of a director's passion and imagination. It is Ben Affleck who is responsible for every emotion and thought that will be experienced by the people who will watch his film and for that he really deserves to be commended.

One last thing I'd like to say about Gone Baby Gone is that it captures the city of Boston in a way I've never quite seen on film. I think what I love most about it is that this is Ben Affleck's hometown which everyone must know by now he loves and takes pride in. However, he doesn't glamorize the city and if anything he makes it seem like a pretty gruesome and brutal place to live. The people are hard, the streets are slimy, and you get a sense that those who are born there will never get out. I appreciate the fact that Ben Affleck respects Boston enough to show it as it really is. He cuts through the skin of the city and exposes its ugly insides and the result is absolutely beautiful.