The Wild, Wild West
One of the most compelling things about Brokeback Mountain -- besides that scene in the tent -- was the way it redefined the American Western. No Country For Old Men, the new Coen Brothers adaptation of the 2003 Cormac McCarthy novel, does the same thing, but on the other side of the coin -- with a dark, anarchic spirit. What you thought you knew about the Western has been flipped on its head.
No Country’s genre-busting attitude is supported by several career-redefining performances. Javier Bardem, so sympathetic and tender as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, plays a brutal killer in a chilling performance. (His Dutch boy haircut alone will freak you out.) The traditionally unremarkable Josh Brolin is fantastic and gruff as the everyman cowboy who finds some lost cash in the desert, setting off a long trail of violence behind him. And Tommy Lee Jones slowly strips himself of his usual bravado in his role as a Texan sheriff on the verge of retirement.
As with any Coen Brothers film, the cinematography is exceptional; it is difficult to tear your eyes away from the screen. Be forewarned: the Coen brothers have said this is their most violent film, and they weren’t kidding. But -- Brokeback aside -- what would a Western be without a little gunplay?
No Country For Old Men will be released nationwide November 9 by Miramax Films.
No Country’s genre-busting attitude is supported by several career-redefining performances. Javier Bardem, so sympathetic and tender as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, plays a brutal killer in a chilling performance. (His Dutch boy haircut alone will freak you out.) The traditionally unremarkable Josh Brolin is fantastic and gruff as the everyman cowboy who finds some lost cash in the desert, setting off a long trail of violence behind him. And Tommy Lee Jones slowly strips himself of his usual bravado in his role as a Texan sheriff on the verge of retirement.
As with any Coen Brothers film, the cinematography is exceptional; it is difficult to tear your eyes away from the screen. Be forewarned: the Coen brothers have said this is their most violent film, and they weren’t kidding. But -- Brokeback aside -- what would a Western be without a little gunplay?
No Country For Old Men will be released nationwide November 9 by Miramax Films.
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