No Country for Old Men is a very violent yet intriguing film. There are many components that are responsible for the film's success in building up such an exhilarating suspense. As the film opens up, there are many long shots of an empty field from a subjective point of view from one of our main characters Anton Chigurh. The viewer is automatically hit with a sense of isolation and better yet, within the first five minutes of the film, a police officer is killed by antagonist, Chigurh. Nearly three minutes later, he kills another person who he finds driving on the street while in desperate need of a new car. As the shot is being filmed, the viewer can see behind the police officer as a long shot and watch the killer plot his murder. Similar to the film Psycho, the viewer can see the killer before the target can. This adds thrill and "excitement" to the viewer leaving them with hope and interest in what will happen next. Another aspect that made the film intriguing was the character development of Moss. Early in the film, we see Moss get asked for water and he seems to be this brave, selfish, and self-oriented person who only cares about himself. However, we see that he does in fact have a conscious because later that night he gets up and brings the guy water even though he was already in bed. In your opinion, were Chigurh's murders symbolic or random? Why?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Chigurh's murders were symbolic due to the fact that each time he killed someone there was a reason behind it, which can symbolize that Chigurh is willing to do anything to get what he wants, or needs. He kills the police officer because wants to escape, and he kills the man with the car because he needs some form of transportation to make a getaway.
ReplyDeleteI think it was interesting that within minutes of meeting Chigurh, he kills two people and that we don't immediately know the motive behind his character; we know that he would become the antagonist, but we don't really know why until later. I think Chigurh's murders are symbolic, like when Chigurh needs something from that person, but I also think that certain ones are random. In the coin toss scene, Chigurh gives the store owner a 50/50 chance of living. He had already gotten what he needed from the owner, but the man obviously didn't provide any threat to Chigurh, so he played a game of chance to give the man a chance of survival.
ReplyDelete