through my membership in the philadelphia film society i saw a sneak preview of no country for old men last night. it was a really fantastic film. it's very violent, just so you know. not all of the violence is on screen, but enough is. the camera is certainly not shy in this film.
lately i've been really turned off by violence in movies. action sequences tend to bore me rather than excite me and the blood that follows often just strikes me as gratuitous. but that thought never crossed my mind with this film. the whole time i was on the edge of my seat. it's also the type of film that doesn't hold your hand, the kind of film that has you standing outside the theater afterwards debating what happened and what the various scenes mean. that's exactly what me, mrs. noz and a couple of friends did last night, and i'm still trying to figure it all out today. maybe i'll have to see it again.
the coen brothers have long been among my favorite directors. their previous two films were a bit of a disappointment so i was wondering if they had lost their ability to make truly great films. "no country for old men" proves that they can, mixing the thought-provoking intensity and occasional humor they so deftly employed in blood simple, miller's crossing and fargo. it's really good to have them back. on top of that, javier bardem does an amazing job as the villain. he's almost an elemental force of violence and evil, like a more serious leonard smalls. bardem's character is such a presence, it's still hard to get him out of my mind.
