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Ervell
E. Menezes finds No
Country for Old Men an excellent thriller
from start to finish
THE Cohen Brothers, Joel and Ethan seem to be getting better all the time. No Country for Old Men, the story of a psychotic killer on the prowl in the American Midwest, is a taut, gripping, edge-of-the-seat thriller, which comes up to the very best in this genre. Actually, Tommy LeeJones’ opening narrative of the diabolical act of a 16-year-old youth who murders his girlfriend sets the tone and ambience for the 122-minute drama that unfolds. What’s more, he tells Sheriff TomBell (Jones) that if hefrees him, he will kill again. Sheriff Bell has a number of anecdotes to narrate (that is when he’s not investigating a trail ofkillings). It all begins with a drug deal going wrong and there is a plethora of bodies lying next to three vehicles. From a distance, it resembles a Wild West trail. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a mechanic, comes upon this scene to find only one man alive. He examines the vehicles and finds a dickie-load of drugs but more importantly a suitcase of cash which he takes with him. Enter Anton Chiberg (Javier Bardem) who gets to the spot later and finds the cash missing, so he decides to find the one who took it. The action shifts on three fronts, Moss, Sheriff Bell and, of course, the ruthless killer Chiberg, a tall slouching man with black hair and a sardonic smile. Now killers come in different hues and intensity but this one is special, evil to the core and incomprehensible. The characters are well developed by the Cohen Brothers (based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy).And clever cutting and editing gives the story a further fillip. Carter Bracewell’s music is haunting and they all combine to produce absorbing drama. The hot desert air is palpable and the outdoor shots brilliant. But cinematographer Roger Deakins is as impressive with the interiors of the many motels our two protagonists move into. Deakins was nominated for an Oscar for it. The spacing is right and the action mixed with interesting snatchesof dialogue, mostly by Lee Jones, who is a jaded police officer. There are some gory scenes and the killer follows Moss like a bad nightmare. Woody Harrelson has a brief cameo as a bounty hunter and so does Tess Harper. Kelly McDonald is Mrs Moss. But it is Bardem and Brolin whoare always in the action, with Bardem stealing the show. Reminds one of Rod Steiger in No Way to Treat a Lady but he is ruthless where Steiger was suave. All in all, it is an excellent thriller from start to finish.
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