Jamie passion and passionfruit!

The big Oscar winner and the ultimate recognition of the Coen’s.  What can you say about a film that is technically in order but leaves a rather sour taste in the mouth?  What does it say about the Oscar voters and the American public that such a look at the unpleasant side of humanity wins big awards?  Maybe, the relatively tepid run that it is having in Argentina (I was one of five in the audience) is representative of a feeling that it is not an enjoyable evening out, even if there is much to admire in technique and performance.  Sometimes, I think we have to comment on the motives of the success and even existence of a film and with No Country I do have the feeling that my life would have been no worse off if I hadn’t seen it.  Some say that it is not such a violent film as you don’t see the three major killings on screen, but you do see plenty of others and the overall mood is of a relentless cold blooded violence and of a society that has turned violent.  I am sure that there is a lot to ponder on with respect to American society today and in the past from the scenes here – just don’t go along expecting nice.  It is grim and it is about people living grim lives and doing grim things. Perhaps it has to do with the shadow hanging over the US these days as Chopra has mentioned. The Coen’s write a good script and get away with a philosophical ending thanks to the great acting of Tommy Lee Jones and some plot issues that help the story along but don’t quite ring true.  Psychokiller Anton Chigurh gets just about everywhere dead quick even after being injured and losing the tracking devices.  Some of the scenes are gems of timing and generally, the way they narrate is excellent, a sort of unfolding of the tale with tightening and slackening of the pace.  Javier Bardem is superb as one of the most unattractive killers to grace the screen.  Not in terms of beauty but as a singleminded killer with no feelings and no mercy, simply an occasional toss of a coin as a nod to fate.  He is so unreal and so real at the same time that it is a credit to Bardem.  Tommy Lee Jones as the disenchanted lawman is spot on and holds together the moral side of the story and he like everyone, absolutely everyone is a victim.  Josh Brolin steps up well to play Moss, the cowboy who intercepts the money and is then the quarry of Chigurh, Kelly Macdonald has only a few scenes as his wife but leaves a real mark and Woody Harrelson has a cameo as a wide boy private eye.  Cinematography is fine by Roger Deakins, giving us the bleached arid zones of the Texan-Mexico border and the bare motel rooms of its small towns.  Yes, mood is there and a great sense of reality.  And maybe for some there is a black humour but I couldn’t really appreciate it – I just wanted to get away from that world and into something at least a little more compassionate.  Maybe that is the great achievement of the Coens, creating such a world and telling an effective tale.  Good on them, but it is not especially likeable.

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