My Coen Brothers Top Ten — Vol 4.
Believe this or believe this not, but I was living in the future in a January from fifteen years past. Working away from home, whenever I needed to stay in the Northern English outpost of Yorkshire I regularly booked myself into a chain hotel in a town called Wakefield because not a hop, skip or a jump away was a Pizza Hut (endorsements are sought and believe this or believe this not, I’m a lot cheaper than you may think) and a, for its time, a huge multi-screen luxurious cinema and, believe this or not, it was also attached to a ginormous indoor ski slope. Naturally I saw no need to break my own legs falling down an artificial ski slope but I’ll always see the delicious need for a pizza and moreover, this cinema from the future had what I can only describe as “private booths” that afforded an incredible view from on high of the widest cinema screen you’ve never seen and perfect audio quality from inside a glassed in private cinema “room”.
So naturally I afforded myself the luxury of living in the future and, taking my luxurious seat amongst the stars, I eagerly awaited the raising of the curtain on yet another Coen Brothers masterpiece.
And that’s when everything went oh so typically wrong!
It was a Coen Brothers film after all.
A busy midweek night at the cinema ensured all seats were sold, even for the time travellers who were living in the future, and I was joined in the overpriced luxury booth by a gang of local oiks who proceeded to shout, scream and talk loudly over the pristine audio of the film they virtually drowned out before two of my new found cinematic enemies decided to have sex. Thankfully they did so in the seats behind me so I only had to hear their gasps of frantic overall disappointment rather than watching in disappointment myself and well, about halfway through this Coen Brothers masterpiece this gang of ne’er-do-wells decided they’d had quite enough entertainment for the evening and skipped their way back out of my life.
And that’s as true a story as there being a suitcase full of cash buried in the wilds of Minnesota or the desert plains of Texas.
“If I don’t come back, tell Mother I love her”.
“Your Mother’s dead Llewelyn”.
“Well then I’ll tell her myself”.
The world according to the Coen Brothers
“Blood Simple” in 1984 through to “Hail, Caesar!” in 2016. And 15 beautifully crafted films in between. Spoiler free.medium.com
“What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?”.
Nominated for eight Oscars, the Coen Brothers themselves won in three categories (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) taking their current personal tally to four Oscars. The other Oscar was awarded for a thunderous performance from Javier Bardem as Best Supporting Actor, more of which later. Numerous other awards followed for a film that is simply breath taking at times and at others is a slow, methodical take on consistently used Coen Brothers themes of a simple plan going awry and of luck and chance playing a huge part in our every day lives. Based on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, there is a particularly minimal score from regular collaborator Carter Burwell with often only sounds used to convey the current scene, a coin dropped, a distant rustle or particularly a tracking transponder “blip” that when used is the dominant sound of the scene. On first viewing the lack of a musical score was immediately evident but on subsequent viewings this subtle, almost subconscious collection of sounds become the score.
Regular collaborator and Director of Photography Roger Deakins was also nominated for an Oscar but again (unfairly) lost out and it is to him we start this journey as the film itself opens with continual back drops of wide open Texas plains and deserts and what becomes an integral character of the film itself. The first two Acts in particular are immersed in these wide open plains and this very integral part of the film is shot and framed beautifully throughout. The film immediately has a feel and look of Fargo (minus the snow) in it’s vast open vistas as far as the eye can see, bleak and very remote.
This two hour film starts as it means to go on, at it’s own pace and never rushed to tell an intriguing moral story of luck and destiny interspersed with ferocious bursts of graphic violence. Commencing with a matter of fact and monotone narration from Sheriff “Ed Tom Bell” (Tommy Lee Jones) he details his family history with a sense of melancholy at a world he no longer understands and the narration itself is stunted and awkward in line with the adaptation from the book. As the narration ends we are introduced to the main character of this brilliantly understated classic of a film, plus the man trying to catch him and a man very definitely trying to avoid him as their individual lives now intersect.
“Anton Chigurh” (Javier Bardem) A brooding, menacing killing machine who refuses to allow anything and anyone to stop him. It’s a powerhouse performance of minimal dialogue but with an awkward smile and piercing stares, his determination to kill anything in his path is astonishing and well deserving of his Oscar win for best supporting actor. A misnomer in terms of the title of the award, but fully deserving nonetheless. Dispassionate and leaving some encounters entirely to the chance of a coin flip, the theme of chance is continually soaked throughout the film. Chigurh’s constant menace never allows anyone else to settle, he is forever dictating the course of events, to his rules and for an outcome he desires. A cold, calculating hitman and an utterly astonishing portrayal from Javier Bardem.
“Ed Tom Bell” (Tommy Lee Jones) Trying to catch this killer is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, brilliantly brought to life by Tommy Lee Jones. Again with very little dialogue, what there is, is portrayed excellently as methodical, thorough and calculating, with long lingering shots on Jones as he pieces the puzzle together. Very much the heart and soul of the film he often seemingly talks to himself, or aloud or directly to the audience and this is particularly striking, as is the length of performance of each scene that Ed Tom Bell is in. As with the film it’s never rushed and even without extensive dialogue the character is given ample room to breath and explore. Tommy Lee Jones’ role here is reminiscent of Frances McDormand’s role in Fargo, an older and more experienced local Police representative who can distance themselves from the killings yet through their experience and local knowledge able to piece a difficult puzzle of clues together.
“Llewelyn Moss” (Josh Brolin) A simple man who benefits from others misfortune and happens to be in the right place at the right time following a simple drug deal gone wrong. With enough money to set up himself and his wife “Carla Jean” (a brilliant Kelly MacDonald) for the rest of their lives, he risks all to act on impulse and out of guilt. A masterful performance from Brolin (again there is very minimal dialogue with which to work with) as he tries to stay one step ahead of his many adversaries but resigned perhaps that the twist of fate won’t work in his favour as he asks Carla Jean when he departs
“If I don’t come back, tell Mother I love her”.
“Your Mother’s dead Llewelyn”.
“Well then I’ll tell her myself”.
These three superlative performances dominate the screen but are ably supported by first Kelly MacDonald as Llewelyn’s dutiful wife and Woody Harrelson in a cameo role as bounty hunter “Carson Wells”. Garret Dillahunt provides light and comic relief as “Wendell”, Ed Tom Bell’s Deputy Sheriff and sidekick and Tess Harper excels in a small cameo as Ed’s wife “Loretta Bell”.
Fully deserving of their Oscars and various accolades this is perhaps the Coen Brothers most openly violent and bloodiest film they’ve created to date. The killings are dispassionate and graphic and equally so the aftermath of the various bloody events. The exception to the rule is Chigurh’s early use of his crude animal stun gun but the remainder of his killings are graphic with trails of blood left or indeed followed by the Directors in the aftermath. In stark contrast to the overall tone of the film, these stand out against a slow, methodical film that never feels long or rushed to a conclusion, the killings are violent and often elongated. Against this violent backdrop and vast mountain vistas that surround this classic, the scene I’ve chosen to dissect here is the exact opposite, the infamous coin toss scene:
Chigurh enters a garage to pay for gas & immediately dominates the discussion after setting the ground rules “What business is it of yours where I’m from, Friendo”. The Attendant (Gene Jones) is shocked by his aggression & continually stumbles now with simple responses to Chigurh’s questions & observations.
Chigurh mocks the attendant’s accent and with a sigh proclaims “You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?” as the Attendant continues to struggle with the abstract nature of the conversation.
Chigurh: “Call it”
Attendant: “For what?”
Chigurh: “Just call it”
Attendant: “Well, we need to know what we’re calling it for here”
Chigurh: “You need to call it. I can’t call it for you. It wouldn’t be fair”.
The Attendant explains he didn’t put anything up to which Chigurh’s telling response is a nodding “Yes, you did. You’ve been putting it up your whole life, you just didn’t know it”. Chigurh tellingly notes the date of the coin and the amount of years it has been “travelling” to get here before pressing the Attendant to call it again. The Attendant guesses correctly and with a shocking smile and warm “well done!” the tension of the scene deflates only to be re inflated immediately as he warns against mixing this lucky coin in with the others. With a strange raising of his expression, Chigurh gives the Attendant another look as he mocks him again with his explanation of the coin and it’s relevance and leaves the store. A simple scene with two cameras initially with slightly longer shots before two further, closer angles are used for the remainder of the scene.
The previously noted theme of chance is highly used throughout, as are key themes of loss, regret, fate and a feeling of alienation at not being able to dictate the events and course of life. Anton Chigurh is almost immune from these themes, however not from another overriding theme of karma. Up to interpretation, the film works on many more levels and themes but as a fan of the genre itself and the Directorial Brothers, this will in years to come be rightly acclaimed as an all time classic.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 200 blog articles (with 400+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“Trainspotting” (1996)
“We called him Mother Superior on account of the length of his habit”.medium.com
“The Pale Blue Eye” (2022)
“The man you are looking for is a poet”.medium.com
“Man on Fire” (2004)
The Best of Tony Scott — Vol 2.medium.com