Current Events > I still don't understand No Country for Old Man.

(+) Yeah! (+)

After watching it 3 times, I still have no idea what is the central theme of the movie.

And I consider myself a film connoisseur too.

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Tommy lee Jones is over it

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There's a country but it isn't for old men anymore.

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I dont know how to black out spoilers so.....um hitman tries to find the goods?

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The theme is dude wants his money

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Geiki Ganger posted...

After watching it 3 times, I still have no idea what is the central theme of the movie.

And I consider myself a film connoisseur too.

Like philosphically? Or the actual plot?

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There's a few themes but I think the main one is Tommy Lee Jones' character coming to terms with the times changing and how he doesn't belong anymore. Hence the ending and the title.
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Its about fate vs self determinism, played out through the worlds worst cat-and-mouse crime drama.

^Also, yeah, a little of that.

Also, Javier Bardem is a scary dude.

Smashingpmkns posted...

There's a few themes but I think the main one is Tommy Lee Jones' character coming to terms with the times changing and how he doesn't belong anymore. Hence the ending and the title.

More accurate than my post tbh.

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That is based on a legit authors book. Usually are condensed for best screen value.

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Same TC but it's just an amazing movie

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modena posted...

I dont know how to black out spoilers so.....um hitman tries to find the goods?

If you're settings are up to date, just hit the question box listed above the post. Click it a second time when you're done spoiling.

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modena posted...

I dont know how to black out spoilers so.....um hitman tries to find the goods?

Highlight the text you want to mask, click that black box with the ? in it right above the box you are replying in next to the B I U

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Wow Thanks guys,seriously.

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As said, one of the big themes is literally how the world is changing to become more violent and men like Tommy Lee Jones don't have a place because they don't understand it anymore. One of the big reasons in the movie is hinted to be Vietnam. Javier Bardem, Brolin, and Harrelsons characters all fought in the conflict and it can be inferred that's one of the things that brought them to this point. It's heavily implied that Brolin's experience there is what allows him to hang with the boogeyman that is Bardems character while everyone else just gets run over him like a train.

Then, at the end, Brolin gets killed by cartel thugs. It doesn't make sense narratively, because he's supposed to have a showdown like in any other movie. This is to drive home the point that the violence is random and there's no making sense of it, confusing the audience just like Tommy Lee Jones is by the violence.

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Yeah, it's a shift in eras and the perception of violence particularly in the 80's. Chigurh represents the new, Brolin's closer to the old school cowboy, and you can further see how they're perceived through the teenage boys that help them. Tommy Lee's the old dog watching the change happen and his dreams are trying to sort it out.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKyp9rGzZ20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQEAZlNQbxY

The opening narration is about how sheriffs used to be able to walk around without even wielding guns. But Tom Bell recalls the boy who knew he was going to hell and was happy to get there. He finds that in his life there seems to be evil that just can't be tamed like the old masters did it. This is fully embodied by Anton Chigurh, who travels around the area killing people on a whim. Tom Bell promises Llewelyn's wife that he'll save her husband. But ultimately he cannot even keep this promise.

Anton's car crash dupes the audience into believing that there may at least be some cosmic karma in the movie's world, but even this is subverted as Anton limps away with his life and freedom.

Tom Bell retires, feeling beaten down by the loss and his perception of the state of the world. He has a dream that he's supposed to meet his father, somewhere ahead of him. His father carrying a horn of fire 'like in the old times' and building a camp for him up ahead. But he keeps losing ground in the dream. He thinks he's gonna reach him... and then he wakes up. The ticking of the clock becomes very loud in the scene. Cut to black, end of movie.

It's literally about an Old Man who's classical conception of morality and human behavior has been shattered by the events of his own life. Biblical wisdom and faith has failed him. He confronts the fact that there is evil in this world, evil that can only be silenced by the barrel of a gun, and realizes he's too weak to confront it (note Tom Bell's cowardice in the movie, often played for laughs, like when he has his deputy break down Llewelyn's door, and doesn't draw his gun himself). It's no country for old men.

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masticatingman posted...

That is based on a legit authors book. Usually are condensed for best screen value.

to be fair, the movie is extremely accurate to the book, way more than the actual adaptation. There are changes made to condense and some stylistic Coenesque decisions, but the meaning is pretty much in tact.

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BobanMarjanovic posted...

Same TC but it's just an amazing movie

First time?

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It's easy. You see..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br9zd0KkFTU

"Here, in the outside world, the bad guys can win-ah!"
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Well, the plot of the movie is a relatively straightforward money chase.

There are layers to the themes of westerns and noire underneath that plot if your into that sort of thing.

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