Gottschalk 1
Lauren Hope Gottschalk
Mrs. Robbins
Critical Analysis of Film and Literature
08 December 2014
No Country for Old Men
I will put it easily, No Country for Old Men was a great movie. I think what made it the great movie
that it is, are the characters. One character that especially stood out to me was Anton Chigurh, the
antagonist, and the unstoppable, murderer that will do whatever he needs to get what he wants. The
immediate focus on how Chigurh has no conscious or moral compass is what makes him most
frightening. Throughout the film Chigurh is killing person after person. With his weapon of a choice,
an air gun, he blasts through door knobs and bodies. Although Chigurh does annihilate anyone that
does or does not step in his way, there were two things that stopped him on two separate occasions.
One was the coin toss, and one was standing up to Chigurh. The time when he enters the gas station
convenience store, and begins to get increasingly annoyed with the owner is the first time the coin
toss is seen (It is not known if Carla Jean Moss was killed or not). It seems that Chigurh's choice of
either killing someone or not is based on odds. The coin is flipped, the victim guesses correctly, they
live. The coin is flipped, the victim guesses incorrectly, they die. Chigurh can't even decide for
himself whether to kill the person or not, he leaves it to a coin.
The second instance where Chigurh let someone go free was when he was looking for Llewellyn
Moss. He goes to the woman that controls Moss's home, and the surrounding homes. The woman
gives Chigurh a disrespectful tone which to the viewer would signal that she is going to be killed, yet
Chigurh leaves the woman perfectly intact.
It seems as though Chigurh has his own moral code. Although this code of his is
very different from the average person, it is what distinguishes right from wrong to him. The man at
the gas station hit a more disrespectful nerve in Chigurh then the lady that deals with the trailer park.
Therefore, Chigurh executed the coin toss with the owner of the gas station.
Why is it shot that the viewer can not see if Chigurh killed Carla Jean Moss, or not?
that it is, are the characters. One character that especially stood out to me was Anton Chigurh, the
antagonist, and the unstoppable, murderer that will do whatever he needs to get what he wants. The
immediate focus on how Chigurh has no conscious or moral compass is what makes him most
frightening. Throughout the film Chigurh is killing person after person. With his weapon of a choice,
an air gun, he blasts through door knobs and bodies. Although Chigurh does annihilate anyone that
does or does not step in his way, there were two things that stopped him on two separate occasions.
One was the coin toss, and one was standing up to Chigurh. The time when he enters the gas station
convenience store, and begins to get increasingly annoyed with the owner is the first time the coin
toss is seen (It is not known if Carla Jean Moss was killed or not). It seems that Chigurh's choice of
either killing someone or not is based on odds. The coin is flipped, the victim guesses correctly, they
live. The coin is flipped, the victim guesses incorrectly, they die. Chigurh can't even decide for
himself whether to kill the person or not, he leaves it to a coin.
The second instance where Chigurh let someone go free was when he was looking for Llewellyn
Moss. He goes to the woman that controls Moss's home, and the surrounding homes. The woman
gives Chigurh a disrespectful tone which to the viewer would signal that she is going to be killed, yet
Chigurh leaves the woman perfectly intact.
It seems as though Chigurh has his own moral code. Although this code of his is
very different from the average person, it is what distinguishes right from wrong to him. The man at
the gas station hit a more disrespectful nerve in Chigurh then the lady that deals with the trailer park.
Therefore, Chigurh executed the coin toss with the owner of the gas station.
Why is it shot that the viewer can not see if Chigurh killed Carla Jean Moss, or not?
I think the reason Carla Jean's death wasn't shown was because it's just another method of creating fear in the viewer. It's clear that she's going to die before the camera cuts to Chigurh leaving the house, and seeing him leave so calmly and ordinarily shows how little concern he has for human life. He is not liable for this death because the coin and Moss made for the end of Carla's life, not him. He definitely does have his own moral code, and the coin motif also helps create suspense in the viewer in turn.
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