No Country for Old Men

By Dr. Lin Zucconi

I know that No Country for Old Men cleaned up at the Oscars. Just goes to show what happens when most of the Academy members are men... violence wins character development and depth of emotion every time.

No Country left me nauseous.  I couldn't wait for the film to end so that I could flee the theatre. Two hours later and I still feel ill. The violence was relentless and that most of it was inflicted with a compressed air cattle killing piston thing (cattle are killed at slaughter houses with a device that shoots a piston into their brain at a very high velocity) just demonstrated to me the contempt and cold heartedness of the killer who rampages throughout the film - also the contempt the movie writers/producers had for American audiences that are flocking to this film. The only people the killer encounters who are not killed  are those he offers a coin toss to and who "win" the toss.

Granted  this film is a horrific but accurate statement about our culture of drugs, money and violence. And the sheriff (played by Tommy Lee Jones, always wonderful as he was in the much better  In the Valley of Elah  which had significantly more character development) always seems a couple of steps behind the killer. Sheriff Tom comes from a long line of west Texas law enforcement officers and is overwhelmed by the excess and horror of violence he is encountering.

Movie is well done but relentless. However if you want to see a film about good and evil with more depth of character and context, see There Will Be Blood. If you want to see a film about war, human sacrifice, love (whether paternal or romantic) and loyalty see Atonement or  In the Valley of Elah.

If you see No Country anyway, bring along some Pepto Bismal  and take some before the movie starts. I suggest taking Xanax too, if you have some.