Hey Folks,
I have not read this book yet, but I've loved the other
McCarthy books I've read, particularly the odd and somewhat
nasty BLOOD MERIDIAN. I've also really liked the Coen
brothers movies for some time (though I recently saw Blood
Simple for the first time and wasn't that impressed--but oh
well, it's an early work).
I pretty much fully loved this movie, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
The subversion of the Hollywood ending, the point that FATE
is a very strong force in the story and one that even some of
the bigger "good guy" characters in the movie can't oppose,
the incredible Javier Bardem character, Josh Brolin's and
Tommy Lee's acting jobs here... yeah. I think this is the
best movie I've seen in quite some time. I saw it on the same
day as I saw American Gangster and there wasn't any
comparison at all.
The best thing, I think, about this movie is that the lack of
a Hollywood ending (where you'd expect matters to escalate
into a final showdown b/t Tommy Lee and Javier Bardem)
actually makes you realize all the more how tense the movie
has been all the way through so far. It's as if I expected it
to go up to a climax and when it didn't, I felt like I was
left off in the middle of something. But being there made me
realize how tense I'd been for so much of the movie and how
strong the built-up narrative tension had been in a way that
I don't think a traditional ending could have.
So, yeah, I thought this movie was a super use of film to
create the most affecting of stories. Kudos to Shannon for
his great comments and his podcast interviews as well!
And I'm happy to welcome him to this list!
Seth
Seth Harwood author of the Jack Palms Crime podcast series.
find it at sethharwood.com
buy JACK WAKES UP on Palm(s) Sunday, March 16, 08 at
Amazon.com and tell big publishing it's time to Shake 'Em
Down!!!
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