No Country for Old Men is one of those movies I tell my friends that you’ll either love or hate. To be honest, I’m not sure how to go about writing this review. As a writer -and an avid movie watcher- I like movies/stories that take different routes, and aren’t afraid to take the road less traveled. I usually scream with joy when I see something unravel in front of my eyes that seem fresh and new. No Country for Old Men uses this technique when it comes to the overall story arc. The problem is, as a viewer who paid money to watch it, I feel cheated. Hell, I was damn right angry.
Let me digress and explain, (I wont go into any details that will ruin the story for those who have not watched it {I hate spoilers}) but lets say you pay your hard earned money to follow a story arc about two people, and for some reason the story takes a sudden jerk from the conventional path (something normally I would praise, as conventional anything is just another phrase for stale and unoriginal) and when you meet back up with the two people, something very drastically has occurred and you the viewer got to witness nothing but the aftermath. I was pissed. In fact this was the only movie I had ever watched where the entire movie theater booed the ending. WTF?
I understand the argument that the movie was not centered on these two men batling, but rather around the old man who narrates and his struggle with finding his place in a new strange world. And i will admit Jones was amazing in his role.
This is where I am torn. This movie was fantastic for the first three-fourth of it. It’s filled with action and well timed humor, the subtle type of humor that does not neglect the seriousness of the situation, and is dark enough to feel real. The characters are so well played and created that I wasn’t even sure who I wanted to route for, despite one being much more vile and evil then the other.
If this movies last half hour had been portrayed differently, this easily would have been one of the best movies I have seen in years, up there with Pans Labyrinth even. Unfortunately, I can’t get past that one scene. If you’ve seen this flick, then I’m sure you know what I’m speaking of.
That’s all I have for N.C.F.O.M. I’m sorry if this review seems a little bit on the rambling side, I had a really hard time writing it and trying to explain the sequence of events without spoiling anything. In a nut shell, if you fell under all the hype this movie garnered, then just ready yourself for potential disappointment.