No Country for Old Men: The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 3¾/5

Note: This has been copied from my 2008 Blu-ray review with minor edits. However, my opinion of the movie remains pretty much in line with what I wrote then.

No Country for Old Men has garnered many awards, with the Best Picture Oscar the crown jewel. It’s a critical darling praised by both movie critics and movie fans alike. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), I’m not one of them. After hearing so much about this movie and after it went on to win 4 Oscars, I was looking forward to seeing this.

Upon writing this, it has been three hours since I saw it and rather than trying to contemplate what happened in the movie, instead I am trying to figure out why it has been praised so much. Differences of opinions happen all the time, none so much when it comes to movies, yet at the same time I like to take a step back and at least try to understand what others saw and loved about it. More on that later…

For me, there were only a number of things that really worked. One is an excellent performance by Javier Bardem, playing a unique psychopath who isn’t someone who is bouncing off the walls with bursts of enthusiasm for killing but instead, when he is at his quietist, is absolutely frightening, but also intriguing at the same time. While I’m unsure he deserved the Oscar Best Supporting Actor, in a year when so few movies have impressed, I can’t name someone else to take his place. One also should not forget two other fine performances by Tommy Lee Jones as a grizzled small-town sheriff (haven’t seen that before) and Josh Brolin, an actor that continues to impress. Brolin shows you get into a movie with at least a glimmer of merit; the acting talent will also rise.

The other thing going in No Country’s favor is the patient direction by the Coen Brothers. Now, I’m not going to sit here and kiss ass saying they’re a couple of the best directors working today, in fact I think they’re overrated, but what they did was tell a story in a unique and unusual style both in writing and direction. They adapted their screenplay based upon the Cormac McCarthy novel.

The Coen Brothers are not like some directors stuck in one genre; you look at their career and they tend to go from one genre to another with ease. Beginning in 1984 with Blood Simple to critically acclaimed Fargo in ’96 to a quirky comedy with The Big Lebowski following that up with a musical (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). They have a certain pizzazz in their style. They’re movies tend to be extremely violent and bloody but that doesn’t get in the way in telling a story, and such is the case here, no matter my feelings on the film. As much as I didn’t completely “get” why No Country for Old Men is such a critical and audience darling, I do see a progress with the Coen Brothers and the talent they have. They don’t bow down to conventions and have not sold out when, in Hollywood, doing so would be so easy and lucrative.

McCarthy’s work was previously brought to the big screen in 2001 with All the Pretty Horses, a movie I, at the time, enjoyed. Can’t speak to how it’s held up over the past 7 years (haven’t seen it since), but I also recall it wasn’t well reviewed either (oh the irony).

There are several points of contention, though. First, the story itself is set up with Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) coming upon a murder scene of a drug deal gone wrong. He finds $2 million in cash, decided to take it and is then hunted down by not only the drug dealers but also by a psychopathic serial killer named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). This in itself causes other things to spring into action. You have the town sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to wrap his head around someone like Chigurh and his murderous ways but at the same time watching a society he does not understand.

The first 45 minutes are filled with tense, but quiet, scenes that made me comprehend how it could be so loved, even if I only “liked” it. But as the film wore on coming toward the two hour mark, it lost so much steam that it became tedious and boring. Yes, I know it’s a character study but when you have characters that aren’t fascinating, not to mention new ones being introduced throughout – none more obvious than the sheriff’s wheelchair bound father – I failed to even connect with it on any level. For example, you have a character like Llewelyn who sees the riches before him just sitting in a saddle. He also knows how much trouble he could be in if he’s found out (drug dealers/psycho killer/police), so he’s not a completely stupid man but at the same time, he decides to go back to the scene of the crime. It is dumb and irrational. The reason for his return is noble enough, but risking his own life and that of his girlfriend made little sense. One of the biggest complaints from those who disliked this film is its abrupt ending, and indeed it is abrupt. Between this and “The Sopranos”, the whole ambiguous finales have gotten on my nerves. Again, I realize this is a character study first kind of movie, but when you don’t really care for these characters, you can only sit back and watch.

I know this review will not sway someone who loved to merely like it now, but I do hope to prepare those who had the same kind of hope as I to brace for disappointment. As to the whole issue of seeing why others love this movie so much, I can understand some of it. Between some beautiful open land direction by the Coen Brothers and three good performances, it is understandable. Is it Best Picture worthy? That I cannot see. Coming from someone who was, for the most part, underwhelmed for the year 2007 in movies, I guess it was inevitable.

No Country for Old Men co-stars Woody Harrelson and Kelly MacDonald. Long-time Coen Brothers contributors’ composer Carter Burwell provides the old Western-type score while DP Roger Deakins gives a sweeping landscape of a harsh and brittle land.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5

This two-disc set is housed in a clear HD keep case and comes with a booklet.

Joel and Ethan Coen with Meagan Abbott (40:27) — In this new interview with the Coen Bros and author Abbott discussing how No Country for Old Men came to be.

Roger Deakins and David Dilberto (33:45) is another new interview conducted by Meagan Abbott with DP Deakins and Associate Producer Dilberto.

Interviews with the Cast (24:53) — These interviews with actors Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Kelly Macdonald were filmed to promote the release.

An Incredibly Unauthorized Documentary (9:19) — This is a behind-the-scenes documentary filmed by Josh Brolin.

The Making of No Country for Old Men (24:29) — This features promotional and on-set interviews with the cast and crew.

Working with the Coens (8:09) — The actors comment on working with the Coen Brothers.

Diary of a Country Sheriff (6:45) — Featurette on Jones’s sheriff character.

4K VIDEO – 4¾/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 4½/5

The Criterion Collection releases No Country for Old Men onto 4K Ultra HD as well as Blu-ray with a newly restored picture, created from a 4K digital intermediate made from the 35m original camera negative that was supervised and approved by Roger Deakins. This is a brilliant looking transfer with sharp detail and well balanced colors with the muted desert scenary.

AUDIO – 4½/5

The movie includes is a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is more than adequate given this doesn’t exactly have any real action scenes and instead is a slow moving film that is more about the ambient sounds that fills each of the channels while also outputting clear dialogue levels.

OVERALL — 4¼/5