When I first watched Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country For Old Men I was filled with both a little confusion and a lot of disappointment. Confusion because I couldn't tell what the point was supposed to be, and disappointment because I felt as if the ending was one big anticlimax. I initially gave it 3/5 stars because, while the story felt like a trick, the acting and cinematography were at least high quality.
Tonight I finally got around to watching the movie a second time, and I certainly feel as if that helped. I won't go too deep into this because far more entertaining and capable reviewers have already said most of what can be said. I will say, however, that the whole point of the film seems to be that there is little point to life.
Tommy Lee Jones' soliloquy at the end sums it up perfectly. He recounts the second of two overnight dreams to his wife and describes how his father (a sheriff like Jones' character) rode ahead of him to make a fire in the darkness. No matter where he went, Jones' character knew that there would be that light in the dark.
And then he woke up.
4/5
Tonight I finally got around to watching the movie a second time, and I certainly feel as if that helped. I won't go too deep into this because far more entertaining and capable reviewers have already said most of what can be said. I will say, however, that the whole point of the film seems to be that there is little point to life.
Tommy Lee Jones' soliloquy at the end sums it up perfectly. He recounts the second of two overnight dreams to his wife and describes how his father (a sheriff like Jones' character) rode ahead of him to make a fire in the darkness. No matter where he went, Jones' character knew that there would be that light in the dark.
And then he woke up.
4/5