How to think about "No Country for Old Men"
Posted 25 weeks 2 days ago bySo my friend Jim Lakely and I saw "No Country for Old Men" the day after Thanksgiving. "What do you think?" Jim asked afterwards. "Hell, I don't know," I replied. "It's about nihilism." But it's about more than that. Now that "No Country" has won the Academy Award for best picture, people might wonder what the movie is really about. Well, that's easy: Kyle Smith wrote the definitive piece. Read it. Contemplate it. Then watch the movie again when it comes out on DVD in a couple of weeks.
Thoughts
No Country for Old Men
Submitted on February 25th, 2008 by Jim LakelyKyle's take is interesting, and helps me think better about a film that was so shocking and powerful, that it left me feeling unable to speak about it with any intelligence. Even now, I lean mostly on what sets it apart from most movie-house fare -- the lack of a soundtrack; loooong stretches of no talking, only perfectly paced action; Bardem's utterly captivating performance, etc.
I guess now, looking back, I see the film is a form of vouyerism. You sense that you really shouldn't be watching it, shouldn't be captivated by it. But you can't help but watch. And, when it's over, you won't forget it, but don't think it should be spoken about.
Clearly, the film still haunts me. And the darkness in human nature that it exposed is a difficult subject.