The story of the movie No Country for Old Men began in such a barren natural environment.
The Spanish actor Javier Bardem plays the evolutionary killer Anton Chigurh. The first film I came into contact with him was "Deep Sea Sleep" in 2004. His facial expressions have a strong emotional entanglement. Even if they are silent, even their eyes are dim. , The sense of power is still lingering, which is still fresh in the memory. Chigurh is obviously not a killer in the general sense. He likes to destroy his prey logically, forcing them to breathe, and letting the suffering and gnawing make people crazy, but he feels as if everything should be right. He is crazy, but he is not without a code of conduct. He occasionally releases people by tossing a coin; he lives in an orderly and orderly life. Even if he is not gentle, he is at least polite. . He is fearless, even tougher than Rambo in "First Blood". He doesn't seem to have basic human emotions at all. Whether he kills or drinks milk, his thoughts are outside the reality and he doesn't know which space he went to. Time, and he just happened to "handle" some troublesome prey for a little convenience. In autumn, a leaf fell from the tree, and someone just walked up and smashed it with a click; Chigurh slammed it, but that was nothing more than that. It died a life without even footnotes.
Such a role made me feel cold from the bottom of my heart, and I was shocked, and the hair was horrified.
The films of the Coen brothers, of course, do not stop at just one emotion and one idea. The film’s grasp of the rhythm is very impressive. From the quietness and slowness in the desert to the tightness of multiple pursuits behind it, the audience is like the frog thrown into the warm water, unknowingly involved. Following the plot, the swirling vortex floated up and down, submerged in some kind of panic that made people feel helpless. Conversations filled with thick southern Texas accents are always slow, as trivial and quiet as background noise; killings are like splitting a silent axe, and the crack closes immediately after the bang, and returns to the previous one. Quiet and slow. Black nights, dirty old cars, long corridors and dim lights in dilapidated small hotels-the weird and breathtaking atmosphere created by the Coen brothers in the 1991 classic "Barton Fink" is finally back , The same proficiency and leaving no trace, the same watching people are in agitated heart.
In addition to the two leading actors, it is worth mentioning that Tommy Lee Jones plays the old police supporting actor Bell. Needless to say, Jones' acting skills are self-explanatory. The most outstanding feature of this character is the contrast with the killer Chigurh in character. The two people have never met in the film from start to finish, and for a perverted man like Chigurh, he doesn't care if there is a police investigating him, so this kind of comparison and even communication was made by Bell to Chigurh in one direction. . Bell is undoubtedly a very good policeman. He is aware of the details and will never let go of clues. The wrinkled old face is full of calmness and silence, and he has a kind of deterrent to the little policeman who is on his team. But in the face of Chigurh, Bell showed a sense of powerlessness from the inside out, taking a step slower in action, a little bit close in reasoning, and always missing the timing. This deep helplessness makes him always look tired, so at the end of the film, Bell "encountered" Chigurh in a strange situation. When the darkness swallowed all the characters again, I thought the film was there. That moment was over; but the Coen brothers once again showed their deep charm of playing the audience's emotions with applause. Soon after the darkness turned out to be a bright indoor and blue sky outside the window. The retired Bell told his wife the two dreams of last night, riding a horse in the snow, his father who wrapped his head and face with a blanket, firelight and moonlight, and his father's far back. This self-talk, which is almost similar to the stream of consciousness, has wrapped the black film with a layer of translucent illusion. In contrast, the empty space is more empty, the black is getting darker, and the helplessness is more weak. And Chigurh's ghostly face was deeper in people's hearts, and he shuddered after recollection.
In addition to the excellent rhythmic control of the film, which increases the sense of reality, photography is also commendable, especially the blockbuster New Mexico desert where the film began to be set. Desolate, bleak, irritable. Of course, those horrible motel shots with symmetrical layout are indispensable, and people once again feel the power of this ugly lens language that is just right. And only a film that can truly tell a certain emotion and concept through a silent lens, and reveal the darkest dark corners of the characters behind it through a superficial plot, can it be called a masterpiece!
If there are any flaws in this "No Country for Old Men", I personally think that the relatively straightforward scene is that Bell went to his uncle's small trailer to tell him that he was about to retire, which is not very popular news. Although it is understood that the movie always needs a certain entry point to point the question, this straightforward scene plus Bell's dream description at the end is always a bit repetitive. Moreover, the role of Bell's uncle did not add new ideas to the character table of the film, probably the only one. The purpose is to add some bright colors to the theme. I personally feel that it is not as good as a black end. Bell still announces the news of his retirement to his uncle. The uncle still expresses his dissatisfaction. He still says that life is going to continue, but Bell's thoughts can be separated from his uncle's voice and the previous dissociation state of Chigurh. Respond to each other, and even mute the sound, just playing the screen is enough.
After "Barton Fink" in 1991 and "Fargo" in 1996, the Coen brothers reached the pinnacle of creation through the film "The Missing Man". Although they were still active after that, they did not have a work that could once again realize the potential of their unique narrative style. People have to worry about whether the two of them are heroes in their twilight years; but this "No Country for Old Men" is really shocking, and once again strongly lament the brothers' talents and shocking expressiveness of the camera. The beautiful back carbine of the Coen brothers made the 2007 Hollywood film market a worthwhile trip. At least there is such a movie that has the potential to become a classic to comfort the audience's long wait.
Published in "Leisure" magazine, "Yangcheng Evening News", please specify if reprinting.
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