MovieChat Forums > No Country for Old Men (2007) Discussion > Has great elements but isn't a great mov...

Has great elements but isn't a great movie

posted 8 years ago by cartesianthought
12 replies | jump to latest

There are some moments that feel really great, anything involving the chase of Anton vs. Llewyn. Some shots are beautiful. Otherwise, the story is standard, wrapped up with old people talking about how the world has (not) changed to add a thin layer of commentary. The cast is standard. The beginning is slow (it needed something to keep me interested and the ending (while i agree straightforward endings are dull).

I gave it a 7/10 for Bardem, but it would probably be a 5 or 6 with any other actor.

[–] DoctorShemp 8 years ago

It isn't great, it's perfect. And it really sounds like you're grasping for ways to pretend it's mediocre

[–] dmariat55 8 years ago

I wish the good doctor would say why it's perfect. To say something is perfect without saying why is a joke.

[–] LotsaMotsa 8 years ago

You have to look at what a movie is trying to do. If a movie doesn't line up with your perception of the world that doesn't make it a bad movie. The coens set out to capture a world where cynicism rules and morality does not equate to prosperity. They undoubtedly succeeded. You don't have to be a nihilist to know that the filmmakers captured nihilism

[–] dmariat55 8 years ago

Interesting post by lot. He just throws things out like cynicism rules in no country without giving any examples. Lot says morality does not equate to prosperity. It sounds cool but what does it mean? In what way is no country nihilistic?

[–] LotsaMotsa 8 years ago

Are you just humoring me or do you actually want me to post the definition of nihilism?

[–] dmariat55 8 years ago

I guess the tag should be LotsaLessa. Obviously I'm asking how nihilism applies to no country plus the other questions.

I feel like I'm in the old West. The fastest gun on this board. All the young punks know my rep and are taking a shot at me. All falling into the horse trough.

[–] DrAndreiSmyslov 8 years ago

The fastest gun on this board. All the young punks know my rep and are taking a shot at me. All falling into the horse trough.

 Talk about delusions of grandeur.

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One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

[–] dmariat55 8 years ago

The sound you hear is zone plopping into the horse trough.

[–] DrAndreiSmyslov 8 years ago

Heh-heh....ouch.

What I find amusing is your hijacking of literally almost every thread in this forum with your endless pissing match with Whatlarks, you're clueless that your back and forth is so one sided.

It's so predictable, I just scroll past your circular spat with Whatlarks, who shreds you time and time again, nothing new to see.

No offense, but you've been getting your ass handed to you by Whatlarks for a long time now. Nothing personal, just a third party observation.

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One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

[–] Whatlarks 8 years ago

One takeaway might be that morality alone - being a good person - isn't enough to stem the dismal tide. You have to get in the ring with it, and that can have deeply personal consequences. Bell talks about the personal sacrifice when you go out and face "the crime you see now" that he doesn't understand, where you make yourself vulnerable to that world, opened to evil, putting your soul at hazard. The idea of evil as like radiation, harmful with too much exposure. The old theme of a hero supposedly needing to become like the evil he's fighting in order to defeat it. A related one is the victim dead set on revenge who succeeds but ends up compromised like the original victimizer.

[–] dmariat55 8 years ago

Larks mistake is a typical one for her. She accepts what bell says as gospel. I look at it critically.

Bell doesn't make sense. Do police put their souls at risk arresting criminals? Police are doing a community service getting violent criminals off the streets. It's good for the soul.

Also bell arrested the kid who killed his girlfriend and said he wanted to get out and kill more people. Bell bragged about it. He didn't whine about his soul.

[–] Whatlarks 8 years ago

I think there's reason to accept those words. I accept the character's feelings as true, and I accept that it's certainly possible for the soul to be put at hazard when fighting evil. It's a wise old insight. That doesn't mean it must necessarily happen in every case, with every person. That's why I said "can have" deeply personal consequences. But Pavlov is not only a sloppy reader, he also can only think in absolutes.