Do Over: EYG Sunday Morning Revisit Week 7

It seems like the Coen Brothers’ films are the ones that I need to see more than once before finalizing on an opinion. Fargo leaps to mind immediately. Now there is No Country for Old Men.

I remember watching this the first time at a friend’s house and neither of us were paying too close of attention to the movie. It got to a point where we just decided that it was time to stop because the film had failed to grab out attention. After watching this for the Do Over, I can guess that we did not give this the chance that it deserved, because this is much better than I ever remembered.

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a local hunter in rural Texas, discovered a drug deal that had gone wrong and, instead of calling the police, he took the bag of $2 million dollars with the hope of starting a new life with his wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald). Psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) wound up on the trail of Llewelyn, leaving a trail of bodies in his path. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) investigated the case, reminiscing about a different time.

There were so many jarring moments in this movie that it totally keeps you off guard. Throw in some brilliant performances, especially from Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, and this movie is unexpected and extremely well done.

When something specific happens that I do not want to spoil, it flipped the entire film on its head. It was so unexpected that it, at first, felt like it sent the entire story off the rails. However, the chaos of the situation I think is part of the concept of the film. The more I reflected on the ending, the more I enjoyed the shock of what the filmmakers were setting up, despite the overall depressing nature of the world they created.

I’m not sure the film ends in a satisfying way, but, again, I think that is part of the intent. I’m not sure how many times I would revisit this, but I found this much more engaging this time for sure.