I went and saw this yesterday, and WOW.

The Coen bros. have shown us again their supreme versatility, this time with a terrific willingness to make this extremely pessimistic, dark film, with the gloves absolutely off, while at the same time intermixing moments of unexpected humor, awkwardness, and even a smile or two (though very few on the latter).

I heard after the fact, by the way, that they followed the novel by Cormac McCarthy almost to the letter, in places using his exact written dialogues. Match that with spartan filming and deliberate action scenes, never forced, and the outcome is lean, direct and extremely powerful.

Tommy Lee Jones delivers the goods as an old sherrif who's perhaps seen too much of the world, and Josh Brolin does his job well in portraying a pragmatic, likeable but otherwise gritty and tough good ol' boy. But the one who steals the show is Javier Bardem. Not since Silence of the Lambs have I been freaked out by a character so badly, and his deadpan delivery of what is (from the very start) the clear essence of pure evil is absolutely believable and unrelenting.

And the ending, no matter what you know or don't, will surprise you.... even after I've told you it will.

A must see. What a great flick.

T.

Well said, Troy.
This was my number one favorite movie of 2007.
Disturbing to say the least. My kinda movie...heh.
Txo

Anybody else?

I saw it a couple weeks ago. Liked it, but didn't love it. I think maybe I was just expecting too much after hearing nothing but great things about it. While I did enjoy it, I just don't think it's something I'll ever need to see again.
*shrugs*

Well, I'm sending THIS guy over to your house then... we'll see who's a fan after that, pal!

i'd say lock your doors... but it doesn't really matter!

*creepy*

The boy and I saw it a long time ago... loved it.
Not sure if this will make sense, but it felt more like reading a book than seeing a movie. I love that.
I liked the little mixes of humor as well.

Oh! THAT guy was pretty awesome!

awesome film - i'm very glad i saw it.

went out and purchased it the first weekend it was on sale - a great addition to the collection.

well deserving its academy awards.

I wanted to love this movie. But like The Lady Killers before it, I got up from viewing it, saying to myself "that's it?" The Coen Brothers have made some of my favorite movies (Intolerable Cruelty, Fargo) however, this movie overall was a disappointment for me.

Although, I felt the Bardem character was believable, I found myself balking at some of the dialogue of most of the other characters. For me, it interrupted my "suspension of disbelief" in such a way that I was brought out of the movie several times and found myself thinking about other things--like housework, laundry, my dayplanner... I know, some will say this dialogue was written by a master (McCarthy) and performed by illuminaries (Jones, Brolin) and is thereby beyond my criticisms, however, I just didn't buy the authenticity of some of the colloquialisms and dialects--even for west Texas, 1980.

Additionally, I didn't really get the ending either. I guess it just went over my head, or maybe I'm not the demographic for this film, but part of me felt like I was being pandered to and insulted at the same time. Not something I'm used to feeling from a Coen film.

Oh well, maybe they should just leave the southern films to souther film makers.

I wanted to LOVE the book but found it a very hard read. I didn't ever finish it which is unusual for me. I have yet to see the movie although I, too, love the Cohens.

I am currently reading his "The Road" of which the movie version is currently in production with Viggo Mortensen as the father. This one's a much easier read for me.

Cher

We saw it about a month ago, and while I agree THAT guy was awesome (as was his character), I felt like I was reading a book where a bunch of the pages were missing, like the first half. I took my time seeing because, as a Gen Xer, I'm highly suspicious of hype, and that can sometimes ruin a movie for me. Maybe it did this time. I felt about it like I feel about Modernists, like I'm watching monkeys masturbate.

Hey no worries, if you decide you want to see it again, just watch Fargo. It's practically the same plotline only much better.

Cowboy finds satchel of money, runs and is pursued by drug dealers and one raging psychopath. Aided/tracked by retiring sherriff.

VS.

Pregnant cop chases guys who were hired by car-dealing husband to kidnap wife, and botch it up.

Yeah, the similiarities are glaring!



Afraid I've never been exposed to modernists or masturbating monkeys, but I'll take it to mean you didn't enjoy it... sorry to hear that Anna! By the way, if you haven't read The Road, do pick that one up. Good book.

T.

Not exactly didn't enjoy it. I think the literal translation is that I was mildly fascinated, without quite knowing why I should be. And felt a little like I was wasting my time.

And I will, if I get a chance! Got a whole stack of books I'm working on right now, though.