12. No Country For Old Men(2007)
In Texas, 1980, Llwelyn Moss is hunting pronghorn when he comes upon a satchel full of money(roughly two million dollars). Naturally he takes it and soon, very soon, regrets his decision. The men who the satchel belongs to hires cold hitman Anton Chigurh to recover the money by any means necessary. Soon after, another hired operative, Carson Wells also comes tracking down Moss, but to offer protection in return for money.
Eventually and by the time the final chapter of the film comes along we are answered the question we've been wondering: "Does Moss get away with it?" Once the answer is revealed we slowly come to realize this was never about Moss. This was never even about Chigurh(although Javier Bardem's portrayal of the killer is a terrifying three-dimensional slasher movie villain who thrives on the decision of a coin). It's actually about Sheriff Ed Bell and it may as well be. The middle-aged(going on elderly) Bell's search for an answer to the stolen money and escaped criminal is almost a representation of his own culture shock. His uneasy look towards the future that's changing the country from the one he knew as a child, from when he was growing up.
To realize that, near the end of a film, your supposed protagonist doesn't succeed in his task and to have your view shift to the perspective of a completely different character is something that film rarely makes you do: think.
No comments:
Post a Comment