Having won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Directors, and Best Film in 2008, we decided to finally watch No Country for Old Men last night, after it had been sitting on top of our TV for well over 2 months now. Gotta love Netflix and their no-late-fees policy.
I'll let you in on a secret. I've been avoiding it because I've heard how incredibly violent it was. I had troubles with the most uncomfortable variety of violence found in movies such as Fargo, Pulp Fiction, and A Clockwork Orange.
And it seems that the older I get, the less interested I am in seeing purposefully violent films.
But it won all those Oscars, and I'm a big fan of the Coen brothers.
But do you know what I mean? I don't mind the shoot-em-up, explosions everywhere, special effects everywhere else variety of movie. The kind of action film that desensitizes the violence by killing so many from so far away with big guns or fancy explosives or special tricks. In fact, I can't wait to see the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, which I'm sure will be rife with this very ilk of turbulence (not to mention the feast that is Daniel Craig.)
I don't mind the type of violence that doesn't seem real.
But when it's up-close-and-personal, senseless, harsh, unpredictable, and yet artful--I have to really be "up" for it.
This one was worth it. One of the best movies I've ever seen. And while I used to chase these films when I was in college, enjoying their edgy-ness and probably getting a kick out of going to parties and thinking I was impressing my friends with the controversial cinema I was choosing to view, now I'm quite picky about the edge I expose myself to.
The bonus? I'm even more curious about Cormack McCarthy, the author of the book that inspired the screenplay. I've got The Road on my nightstand pile (OK, it's more like a tower these days) and now I'm thinking he might be a treasure trove of literature to explore.
Don't you just love when art inspires you to explore something further? If you haven't seen this movie yet, and I realize that I am, quite possibly, the last person on earth to see it, don't be afraid of the violence. It's well worth the ride.
interesting, thanks for your review Cath!
Posted by: rae | November 22, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Amen to No Country...same reservations, same thumbs up. Love the Bros.
And yes, 007 is a feast...even more so in this one. Yum. :)
Posted by: Susan Neal | November 25, 2008 at 11:09 AM