Is Anton one of the greatest villains?! Also I totally made a mistake in this video... can you find it? FARGO: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FGAuglcaMGE.html TRUE DETECTIVE: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QPmbQvcMfmg.html MEN IN BLACK: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pmpkqrjkQWU.html
For sure one of the all time greatest villains. Well deserved Oscar for Bardem. Now, how about a nice light hearted Coen Bros. comedy. Say, Raising Arizona? 🤔
Great reaction, Jen. I think that it's a great film, for me I think that the killer represents Death personified, the coin toss is like saying is it your time yet. That's just my take on it, also the title, 'No Country For Old Men' and Tommy Lee Jones' character's dream about his Father and meeting him.
Moss probably would have been fine if he hadnt brought back water to the obviously dying, drug dealing, potential murderer. Biggest plot hole in this movie. That decision makes no sense.
@@nathanpapp432 Not to get too nerdy but I feel like Moss makes poor decisions consistently in the film such as not looking for a tracker, throwing the money over the bridge, being destracted and killed by a cute girl with beer completely forgetting that he is in fact on the run from an assassin and is kinda in a rush. Not to mention his unfaithfulness. I think he is highly experienced and hardened from his service but is a person who acts on feeling, gut instinct, and a bit of panic that he's in over his head. A guy who acts on emotion and is overconfident I could totally see doing the water run.
also i've heard a lot of people suggesting that they would have taken a flight, an airplane and ran with the money but from what i know you are not allowed to carry that amount of cash in an airplane, the airport security wouldn't let you pass, they would interogate you and they even have the right to confiscate the money.
@@gcountry100 He did make a lot of poor decisions (cowboy boots), but going back with the water is absurd. Not looking for a tracker and throwing the money over the bridge honestly arent that bad. Maybe he should have thought about a tracker but in the early 80s I dont think thats something you would really be thinking about. Throwing the money over the bridge makes sense at the time. He would have easily been robbed in the condition he was in and only he knows where it is.
Kelly McDonald was fantastic as Carla Jean. Her American accent was so believable, that it comes as a surprise to realise that she's actually Scottish, unless you saw her in Trainspotting, or any of her other projects.
She is also in Boardwalk Empire... This and Boardwalk Empire is where I know her from, and I rewatched Trainspotting recently and realize it was her, so young... and I was blown away.. lol.
I remember reading All the Pretty Horses when I was around 23-24 years old. I was so amazed that a person could write like that. 30 years (and a LOT of books) later, it’s still my favorite book.
A group of Psychiatrists spent 3 years watching 400 films with psychopaths/sociopaths in them and they all voted Anton as the best representation of a psychopath.
“Is Carson there?” “Not in the sense that you mean.” Oooooooo, dang that’s chilling. It always gets me. That line and Jones’ final monologue about the dream are both such incredible examples of writing at a top level.
Right? It destroyed me when I fully realized what he actually was talking about. It was more than some dream, it was a microcosm of life, growing up and growing old without ever figuring out what it all was for. No one has any answers, not even our idolized fathers.
I think you got the themes exactly right here. Anton Chigur is almost like a force of nature, or at least he thinks he is. He feels like he's death itself, no conscience. That what makes him a truly scary villain.
Chigur is almost a godlike entity passing judgement on others but in the end he is also subject to chance/chaos when the accident happens showing that all life is subject to chaos and we have no power to control our lives. I didn't love this movie when I first saw it but it's grown on me and now I think it's a masterpiece.
In the novel, Anton explains his philosophy at points, including the dialog with Carla Jean. They should have used that full exchange in the movie. I'm not sure that he thinks he's death exactly. More like fate or inevitability. That is, as he might say, somewhere in their past the individual made a choice that eventually caused their paths to cross in a way that meant death for them. Who was he to second day the universe?
Buy a copper mesh bag and if you ever run into money or other valuables toss in bag. Copper mesh will block any signals till you can get to safe location.
I liked Clara-Jean. At the end you can see she is terrified, but she's not begging, or screaming or trying to run away. She just points out that Chigurh has no cause to hurt her. And even though she is desperate to survive, but she refuses to play his game. She is smart and brave and emotionally strong. I love women like her.
my theory is that she's the one character who hurt chigur the most.. not physically but mentally. she shook his faith in his crazy worldview when she spoke the truth to him, even knowing it probably meant her death. that's why after he killed her he was in the car accident
I've heard the same - but even one step further. Chigurrh, until that point, is essentially just a spectre, floating through the world and ending lives without repercussion. An angel of death, using random chance to elevate himself above consequences and to the position of natural law. But the sherif tells the story about the rancher who lost function of his arm after killing a cow - a defenseless animal - and it draws an unexpected parallel to her death. When she refuses to call it, Chigurrh is forced to descend, to kill her because he wants to kill her rather than because he's predetermined to. And because of this - by killing a "defenseless creature" like the man with the steer, he's punished, and loses his immunity, immediately becoming vulnerable and mortal. It's a theory that isn't literal; he's not an actual demigod committing divine murder, but metaphorically it tracks.
@@reginaldgickington4793 Sorry, I don't agree, because Chigurrh is injured more than once before the end of the film. Also, I'm not sure he killed Clara-Jean. She says the coin has no say, then they sit and stare at each other. Granted, there are hints he killed her, but those hints could be something else. I think the car crash at the end was just one of those things that happen at random. It's not a punishment. I don't know if Chigurrh killed Clara-Jean or not. As she said, he had no reason to hurt her. She could identify Chigurrh but the authorities already knew he was the one responsible for all those killing. Granted he told Llewelyn he would kill her unless he returned the money, but Llewelyn was already dead. He would not know she had been killed or spared. He may have died sure his wife would be killed, and that was the point. Anton enjoyed killing, especially if the victim had no idea it was coming. He enjoyed playing with people before he killed them as well, like he did with the gas station clerk.
When Llewellyn went to the motel at night and asked to be driven somewhere else, he noticed the curtains were slightly open, when he'd shut them completely before he left. Someone had opened them slightly so they could look out the window.
"Is Carson Wells there?" "Not in the sense that you mean" That is one of the creepiest exchanges in this movie for some reason, and yet still makes me half laugh every time I hear it. Probably just nervous laughter :)
I remember when I saw this in the theatre, it wasn't till I was walking out with friends that one of them mentioned there was no music. I was floored, cause I just straight up hadn't noticed and normally I'm keyed into that kind of thing Should check out O Brother, Where Art Thou, its the Coen brothers take on The Odyssey which they've never read and only got the synopsis of more or less. And then set it in Depression era Tennessee.
Such a great film, with great performances. My favorite scene is when Tommy Lee Jones is having that conversation with his (who I believe is his) father-in-law, played by Barry Corbin. Their conversation is haunting, moving, enlightening and realistic. But there literally are no bad aspects to this film. Except maybe that it could actually happen.
It's great to see Jen reviewing a movie like this, a deeply dark if sort-of lyrical drama - and doing such a good, emotionally open job. Kelly MacDonald is heart-wrenching in this, it's so difficult to watch. A beautiful performance and one of the tensest *real* horror movies. Edit: I loved Jen's analysis at the end. Really engaging . I think she'd (hopefully) love the likes of Chinatown, The Parallax View, and the Twin Peaks pilot.
This may not be related to the video but after the last couple of days dealing with some health issues and receiving terrible news. I’m glad that someone like Jen is always here to entertain me and everyone else on here especially during this difficult time, this is why she’s one of the best on RU-vid and we thank her everyday for what she does for us.
You'll need to do There Will Be Blood soon. They came out the same year, they're westerns, and they have two of the most memorable villains in recent cinema history. Seriously, they kind of come as a pair.
I remember first watching this and just being silent when the credits rolled, not sure if I liked it or not. On reflection, such an awesome movie! Thanks Jen for reacting to this one! Greetings from New Zealand. 😊
I tried answering some of your questions: You can't just buy an apartment with cash money without raising some questions and if you don't want the police to be able to track you, you need a new identity basically. Also can't get it through the airport due to X-ray. Even driving to Mexico is risky without connections. He cut off most of the shotgun barrel and the stock to make it easier to hide and the pellets also spread wider, making it more effective in very close situations. He duct taped the handle of the shotgun so he doesn't get splinters from the wood he sawed off. Chigurh took his boots off at the motel to make no sound and to leave no traceable bootprints.
Great Trivia: The case "satchel" used in this movie is the exact same "satchel" case used for the ransom money in Fargo! Also, this film is based on an incredible novel written by iconic American Author Cormac McCarthy who recently passed away at age 89. The Coen Brothers noted that they lifted whole entire paragraphs of dialoge from McCarthy's novel. That's how excellent it is!
I think one part of the movie many people neglect to tell is how each kill throw the movie gets less and less violent. It starts with an office being strangled to death with handcuffs and ends with two important characters dyeing off screen.
That was really great analysis at the end, I think you were spot on. Carla Jean makes the case for free will when she tell Chigur it's his choice, "the coin don't got no say." Immediately afterward he gets in a car crash, demonstarting the randomness and chaos of the universe. It's like these two ideas are presented as two sides of the same coin 🤔 And yes you should definitely read the book.
Tommy Lee Jones' character/narrator has all the lines for exposition. The painting in one of the hotel rooms. It depicts two men on horses going through a pass...just like Sheriff Ed's dream he talked about at the end. There are some super subtle motifs in this film and music would be a grand distraction. They use the silence and the ambient sound like an aural white space. Master class movie. It's disappointing this film gets written off as a drug cartel movie. Siccario flicks are a good one if you like that stuff.
I really dug this reaction from you, Jen. I like how you recognized that this was a deep and thoughtful film, and structured differently than most others, and you noticed the lack of music adding to the tension. Very refreshing observations in a reaction video!
Josh Brolin plays the lead character who finds the money at the beginning. He was a child actor who survived Hollywood, even thrived. In the Marvel movies, he voiced the bad guy who wants to destroy half of all life in the universe. Josh's father, James Brolin, was a popular movie star in the 1970s and 80s. He played lead in the original "Westworld" and in the original "Amityville Horror". He has been married to Barbara Streisand, one of the biggest stars in the world, in her day.
'Hudsucker Proxy' is a cute Coen bros movie, highly underrated probably because it doesn't fit peoples' expectations of what a Coen bros movie is supposed to be.
I love that there was no music, gave it a stark, raw and no warning what was coming next. The last scene with Tommy Lee Jones for me summed it up. Death is coming for us all and the decisions we make have some kind of effect on how we go. "You can't avoid what's coming" One of the best movies ever made in my book. A punch to the gut by the Coen brothers Well done and a good thinking person's reaction to a classic.
I read the book after seeing the movie. It was one of those rare cases I felt where the film edged it. But all the ideas you spotted are there in the book. Another Cormac McCarthy story filmed and directed by Ridley Scott is The Counsellor. It's well worth a look for more of that dark philosophy of Cormac McCarthys, with great acting performances from Javier Bardem and Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz.
Read the book. It's brilliant. The film follows the book very closely and is one of the easier to read of McCarthy's books. Same with The Road. His most straightforward books. The way they talk: pure Cormac McCarthy. He's a master. What is it about? McCarthy says that all the best stories are ultimately stories about life and death. This film plays with the idea that we are not truly in control of our lives, that we live at the whim of mother nature, chance, and other external forces. Anton embodies an indifferent and unstoppable force. This film is my second favorite film of all time after Casablanca. It's on many folks's top ten list.
Javier Bardem played the best psychopathic assassin in a long long time. This performance skyrocketed his career into stardom this is one movie I could re-watch yearly
It's a great book, and the movie is very true to it. I thought after reading it there was no way they would just have a conversation for several minutes and then the end. But the Cohen brothers pulled it off.
So happy you finally watched this one, it’s an all time favourite and I’ve watched it maybe 20 times in its entirety and at least 30 times in reaction videos which help a lot as I am doing a research type project on this film in a hobby kind of way. Now, having said all that, let me give you some long bullet points... The book is very good and a little different but I’ve only read it once and have to go through it again. I am currently rereading the Aeneid right now as the Coens often tie ideas in their films and sometimes the whole film to the Homeric world or in this case Virgil which is a late add on to force a trilogy of sorts into existence. We have the father theme - huge in the Aeneid - most prevalent in the final sequence of the film with Bell relating his dream. We also have the “signs and wonders” comment when Bell’s in the restaurant with the other old time sheriff (that line is in The Aeneid), and we have the foundation myth talk when Bell’s at his cat riddled uncle’s place reminiscing about the past and mentioning natives etc. The foundation myth of the Aeneid was in part to justify Roman expansion and rule. The British Empire used the Aeneid to justify themselves and now we have an American Empire in which the capital city of Washington DC would be very familiar architecturally to the Romans and even to the Greeks and Trojans who the Roman’s who wrote and published the Aeneid wanted to tie themselves to legacy wise. The American Dream - another myth - ties in nicely too to the last line of the movie, “And then I woke up.” The Aeneid connection is more obvious when one reads Yeats’ poem, ‘Sailing To Byzantium’ which, if read will leave one scratching one’s head more than the film does, so, that short Yeats poem also needs to be studied after the initial wade through. There’s a line in the poem that reads, ‘That was no country for old men.’ The poem’s about sailing away from something and sailing towards something, which is, in fact, how sailing generally works, but it’s also a metaphor for the human condition. Mortality and existence are slippery fish. The film is about sailing. Other slippery fish are Determinism and Free Will so let’s bring up The Fates, you know the three sisters of myth who are in charge of everyone’s destiny. Anton believes he works for The Fates. That’s where the coin comes in. If he’s sure you’re a threat to him in any way he’ll kill you. The people who get the coin flip are only those who Anton is unsure of; are they a threat to him or not? Anton is indifferent about killing. He doesn’t need to kill like a serial killer does and he doesn’t enjoy it. He’s an agent of The Fates, it’s just business. In fact he is relieved when the gas station owner calls the coin flip correctly, “We’ll done.” he says. In that scene he also states in disbelief, half choking on a snack, “You married into it.” He wasn’t talking about the station owner’s position, he was talking about the station owner marrying into the entire coin flip. His actual marriage to the wife was just to eventually get to the coin flip.Anton is marvelling and surprised that The Fates had plotted out such a long series of complications just to get them both to this moment. He is humbled by this realization. Anton is a loon. The coin flip reveals that the movie takes place in 1980, five years after the war in Vietnam ended. The CIA used to run drugs from the jungles of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam back to the States in the 70s (“Air America”) in order to fund their secret Black Ops projects. It was a way to avoid Congressional budgetary oversight. When the war ended they switched out of SE Asia and over to Mexico, Central, and South America because of course they did. The Cartel and the CIA are the two players involved in the drug deal gone horribly wrong in the film. Carson is a hitman and “a retired military colonel” as is also mention by Sheriff Bell’s old Sheriff friend in the parking lot of the restaurant scene. Carson and Anton know each other because maybe Anton was also in Vietnam. At the very least he was hired as a hitman by the CIA, maybe not for the first time. Carson mentions Vietnam to Moss who was also in Vietnam. Moss is so damned capable and somewhat unshaken because he survived two tours of duty in Vietnam. It also makes him too confident and thus vulnerable to the bigger forces at play. The CIA used to buy office buildings and make hidden floors - probably still do - so they could operate in plain sight using “missing floors” by rigging the elevator buttons. That’s what Carson was ribbing the CIA desk guy about in that seemingly non sequitur scene. The 3 Fates? The 3 main characters, and... the 3 windmills at the start of the movie during the opening narration which I think are a Cervantes reference, tilting at windmills, old man of La Mancha who is also not handling the sailing through his own life too well and facing up to his own coming end kind of thing. Concerned with things that don’t matter, illusions, false purpose, dreams. There’s more of course and always will be but that ought to prove you right enough with your ideas of more to this film than meets the eye. The subversion of tropes is my favourite thing here. Killing Moss off screen is so shocking because it’s more like an actual real life death than anything else I’ve ever seen on screen. Out of the blue, find out later, I was just talking to him an hour ago, etc. Death is slapstick, you just step on the banana peel and bam, what the hell happened? It’s a pretty good joke on all of us who strive and struggle in our own everyday petty battles like our very lives depend on it, they don’t. We almost always find that out too late. There are no heroes. There are no gods. There are no reasons. There are no justifications. There is no country for old men. Thanks for making videos eh.
I hope you keep going with Coen brothers films. True Grit if you want a more traditional western from them. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for a bit of an unconventional western. Both are incredible films.
The book’s really good but doesn’t offer a lot more than the movie (it’s a fantastic adaptation). I don’t think that reading the book helps you get more out of the movie, though it does give a couple of extra words (perhaps a sentence) about Cigurh.
To me this movie is about the arbitrary nature of existance, where even the villain, who tries to control his victim's destiny through chance (a coin toss), is also subject to the nature of chance
I am so happy when I watch along with you! The charm and personality that that you emit gives me hope for the future. So continue to be you and spread the love
Anton is a great villain!! Jen this was a great reaction! Remember allways check the money for bugs the fase too! 😊 No music made this movie tense!😁 Luv ya Jen ❤💛
Javier Bardem was terrifying in this, but he's actually a very jovial and sweet guy. He was on Conan O'Brien's podcast "Conana O'Brien Needs a Friend", and he was giggly the whole time and very generous and kind.
Hi Jen........you are a VERY quick study, and I agree with most of your analysis. I have read the book, and there is never a physical description of anton chigurh, which led many readers to believe he was a phantom..........author cormac mccarthy said that wasn't the case. (yes, please read the book)................there are various analysis of the movie's ending on RU-vid......those are worthwhile as well..............enjoy your posts. keep up the good work.
I like the ending of this movie. It shows that despite the adrenaline moments at the end, it's you telling your wife your boring dream and showing that life is really crap.
The lack of non-diegetic sound and the long silences give the movie a feeling of tension that most crime stories don't achieve. You said that Llewelyn Moss is smart. He is, in a way, in that he understands how to build things, how to track, and other things that are useful for survival. But he's very foolish. The wise thing to do when you come across a bunch of dead bodies from a drug deal gone wrong is to run. Get the hell out of there. If you find money, don't take it. He got himself killed with that bad judgment, along with his wife and some other innocent people. Kelly MacDonald, who played Carla Jean Moss, is Scottish, and speaks with a strong Scottish accent. You couldn't tell from listening to her in this movie. Her Texas accent was perfect. One thing I love about Coen Brothers movies is that all the characters, even the ones with little screen time, are memorable and individual people. The guy at the gas station, the manager at the trailer park, the border security guy, the salesman in the clothing store, the motel manager, all have distinct personalities even though they were on screen for only a couple of minutes all together. "And here you are. And it's a beautiful day." - Nice callback to Fargo. Josh Brolin, who played Llewelyn Moss, is also in True Grit (2010), another Coen Brothers movie. I'd love for you to react to it.
Ohhh my I am so here for this reaction. The perfect lazy Saturday afternoon. Watching one of my favorite crime dramas and the best modern day western ever with my favorite reactor, the lovely, vivacious Jen.
Sawing off a shotguns barrel increases the spread of the shot while making the weapon lighter more maneuverable and more easily concealable. You sacrifice quite a bit of effective range doing this though. Also doing that without registering the firearm as a short barrel shotgun doing some paperwork and paying for a tax stamp is a felony.
Tommy Lee Jones wife in this film is Tess Harper, who is tremendous in a tremendous movie with Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies, also set in Texas. The killer's device is used for killing cattle, fyi.
@1:08 He was cuffed behind his back... He slipped the cuffs under his feet so that he kill the deputy. Not easy for most adults to (silently) do, while wearing boots. Anton is a scary man...
13:50 Don't you think the customs agents at the airport would find it strange if you showed up there with an untraceable million dollars? I think the maximum amount you can take to another country without registration is 10 thousand dollars.
Nice reaction Jen. This is easily in my top 10 movies of all time. This movie masterfully builds tension to where you are sitting at the edge of your seat waiting for the worse to happen. The lack of any kind of score was a brilliant idea. One of the Coen brothers finest.
'Take a plane to Europe ..." Call us next time you go through any customs with a suitcase filled with dodgy cash. I'm sure it will go well ;) Love the content
"Pronto" means "soon" in Spanish. This movie's protagonist is Tommy LJ's character, as he grapples with the unpredictable and negatively-changing environment he's in (as illustrated by Brolin and Bardem's characters). Specifically, TLJ's role is one of the "old men" that's referred to in the title.
I think maybe the movie is about the futility of searching for meaning, thus the ending. Uncontrollably, life and death are gonna happen and both ultimately have no meaning, whether or not you try assign them any.
Yea, that guy that you recognize in the cowboy hat with the mustache is Josh Brolin ... aka Thanos in Marvel's Avengers ... and aka Cable in Marvel's Deadpool 2.
Read the book by Cormac McCarthy. You will learn a little more about the Sheriff. There are RU-vid videos about the meaning of this movie, and also probably podcasts.
This film has a few character actors that are excellent at disappearing into their rolls. Stephen Root is one of them. He was the man behind the desk in the high rise. He was also in "Dodgeball". Javier Bardem was in Dune, and you'll see him again in James Bond's "Skyfall".
He was cutting of the extra length on the stock and barrel of the shotgun just to make it smaller and easier to carry and hide. Doesn't really change the guns effectiveness just changes how you use it and at what range.
Dear Jen, Mr. Moss bought a full sized Winchester model 1897 shotgun, and he used his saw to shorten the barrel and to cut off the butt stock to make it easier to carry and conceal. It is illegal to do this, but you can see why he did it.
Honestly, it took me 3 times watching this movie to get a hold on it. The first time you really don't have a chance! I do want to read the book one day. I've read The Road and wow, McCarthy was a master. Great reaction, Jen
When Tommy Lee Jones tells the wife about the guy who injured himself killing a cow (one of the most defenseless creatures) to where he couldn't lift his arm above his head and after Anton kills the wife (arguably the most defenseless person in the film), he gets injured by no fault of his own, where he can't lift his own arm above his head. Beautiful portray of moral chaos even to those who strictly live by moral order. My two cents 🍺
Technically, there actually *is* some music in this Movie (a couple of minutes), but its ingrained in the soundscape to such an extent that its barely noticable. The Coens had some discussions with their usual musical collaborator, Carter Burwell, and were considering an all percussion-Score but felt that even that would be too intrusive and would go against the feeling of raw quiet they were going for. So they opted on using sustained tones (sine and sawtooth waves and singing bowls) blending in with the sound effects that sound as if they're "emanating from the landscape". If you listen closely, you can hear these tones at some points (the Coin Toss-Scene, for example) but its almost like they were not *meant* to be noticed. The End Credits feature the only conventional music Burwell provided for the movie.
1:50 It's called a captive hammer. It uses high pressure air to shoot a rod out, but the rod stay in the tool, so it can be used over and over. They are used to kill animals in a slaughterhouse.
The function of sawing the barrel off the shotgun was to make it more portable. If you're having to swing it around to aim in tight spaces like indoors, the shorter barrel helps. That was the purpose of that. Anton's suppressor on his shotgun is probably the most unrealistic thing about the movie. While shotgun suppressors do exist, the noise Anton's makes is just... weird?
I'm a Texas boy but I'm from the Dallas/Ft Worth area I'm in the city, this movie captures the stereotypical imagination of what people think the whole state looks like! West Texas has beautiful scenery I'm by know means complaining about it
