Monday, September 10, 2007

No Country for Old Men

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) - Sept. 10, 2007
An expectedly well made film which, though probably not quite up there with the Coen Brothers' absolute classics, is still really good. Although this is Joel and Ethan Coen's first adaptation of someone else's material, it still definitely feels like a Coen Brothers film (a highlight, and a clear bit of Coen goodness, is the scene where Javier Bardem terrorizes a hapless store clerk, forcing him to gamble his life in a coin toss. It's a perfect example of the Coens' brilliance in dark comedy and suspense, and is probably one of the best scenes I've seen in a long time). The performances are all really good, particularly Bardem as the gleefully sinister yet oddly principled killer. Visually, it looks great (no surprise there), and features quite a few fairly riveting scenes. It starts out a tad slow, but that's a pretty minor complaint. ***1/2

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