No Country for Old Men (2007)

Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.

Directors:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay)

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin

Top Rated Movies #166 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 155 wins & 131 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ed Tom Bell
Javier Bardem	...	Anton Chigurh
Josh Brolin	...	Llewelyn Moss
Woody Harrelson	...	Carson Wells
Kelly Macdonald	...	Carla Jean Moss
Garret Dillahunt	...	Wendell
Tess Harper	...	Loretta Bell
Barry Corbin	...	Ellis
Stephen Root	...	Man who hires Wells
Rodger Boyce	...	El Paso Sheriff
Beth Grant	...	Carla Jean's Mother
Ana Reeder	...	Poolside Woman
Kit Gwin	...	Sheriff Bell's Secretary
Zach Hopkins	...	Strangled Deputy
Chip Love	...	Man in Ford

Storyline

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

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Plot Keywords:

sheriff | desert | texas | tracking device | coin toss | 

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Taglines:

There Are No Clean Getaways

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

No Country for Old Men

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,226,333 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Gross:

$74,273,505 (USA) (4 April 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Vantage, Miramax, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen share the record of four Oscar nominations for a single person for the same film (in this case, shared by the two) with Orson Welles' four nominations for Citizen Kane (1941) and Warren Beatty's for Reds (1981). The Coens' four nominations are for Best Picture (as producers with Scott Rudin), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing (under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes). Welles was nominated both Best Picture (also as producer) and Best Director, as well as Best Original Screenplay (won, and shared with Herman J. Mankiewicz), and Best Actor. On the other hand, Beatty was nominated for Best Picture (also as producer), Best Director (won), Best Original Screenplay with Trevor Griffiths and Best Actor.

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Goofs

When Chigurh blows out the lock at Moss's trailer, the cut-out ring on the paneling across from the door was already there before the lock hit it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ed Tom Bell: I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five years old. Hard to believe. My grandfather was a lawman; father too. Me and him was sheriffs at the same time; him up in Plano and me out here. I think he's pretty proud of that. I know I was. Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough'd never carried one; that's the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn't wear one up in Comanche County. I always liked to hear about ...

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Son of the Mask (2013)

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Soundtracks

Puño de tierra
Written by Michael Eloy Sánchez
Performed by Angel H. Alvarado Jr., David A. Gomez, Milton Hernandez and John Mancha

User Reviews

"You don't have to do this."

"You don't have to do this," repeated words in this lingering film, which really does not feel like a typical Coen Brothers film to me. Fargo, had its quirky character and its grotesque moments, but this film is all about a subdued natured intermixed with quick action. For what I expected, I got some of it, but also a bit more of a subdued air and timing than I expected. It would do things in spurts, action at the beginning then a lull and more thunder. It worked great for keeping one on edge, which Brolin did, excellently in the lead role lying awake thinking too hard. Jones too was good in a strong supporting role as a close to retirement sheriff who is on the outside shaking his head at the carnage and mayhem unleashed by the simple finding and taking of a satchel full of money.

The real gem and glue of the film though is Javier Bardem's menacing character who has his own brand of justice, which is extremely harsh and well insane. Even the one who claims to know him cannot even begin to stop or even slow him down. Bardem whom I have not had the pleasure of seeing in anything before is gold and like no other before looks to have the supporting actor award locked up in this performance. His presence is felt, even when he does not show up. That is something I have not seen in film well since probably The Third Man and Orson Welles' character Harry Lime.

I cannot really describe the film that well so I will suffice to say that is best modern western tale I have seen since The Three Burials of Melquiades, which also happened to have Tommy Lee Jones and was directed by him to boot. Another thing I noted was the lack of strong score. The filmmakers just seemed to let the sounds of the creaking boots and the desert landscape speak for the film. It felt natural and a bit menacing.