Natey & Katy: At the Movies
Natey & Katy are two friends who love movies and love talking about them. Join them on their cinematic journey!
Natey & Katy: At the Movies
Ambiguous Endings and Stellar Performances
Prepare yourself for a gripping analysis of "No Country for Old Men," where we promise to reveal the profound themes behind its perplexing ending. Katy and I dive deep into the movie’s stark contrast from other Coen brothers' classics like "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski," focusing on its intense scenes and minimal humor. We unpack powerful performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson, shedding light on how their characters contribute to the film's dark, compelling atmosphere. The seemingly baffling conclusion initially left us puzzled, but our deeper exploration uncovers its rich layers of morality, aging, and the relentless passage of time.
Explore the chaotic essence of modern cinema as we dissect how "No Country for Old Men" exemplifies this through its ambiguous ending and unresolved plot points. We discuss how these elements can either frustrate or fascinate, depending on one's taste for interpretive art. Special emphasis is placed on Javier Bardem’s chilling portrayal of the antagonist, praised for its authentic depiction of a psychotic killer. We also highlight the film's unique setting and dynamic performances, which together cement its status as a contemporary classic, despite its unsettling conclusion.
Finally, we scrutinize the symbolic use of the captive bolt stunner by Bardem's character, underscoring themes of disposability and chaos. The tension-filled gas station scene is discussed in detail, praised for its cinematic brilliance. Katy humorously contrasts her dislike for silent films with her appreciation for the dialogue-heavy "No Country for Old Men," while our guest Scott, a medical professional, critiques the film's medical inaccuracies yet commends Bardem’s convincing sociopath portrayal. This episode promises an engaging conversation that balances artistic filmmaking with action-packed sequences, offering a rich tapestry of insights into this modern-day classic.
Spoiler Alert. Spoiler Alert Opinions fly, but they're not me, they're the critics on the scene aka Nady, of course, and with me this time is my good friend Katie.
Speaker 3:Hi Katie, how are you? That's me. I'm doing well because, unlike you, I'm not starting off the school year with my own classroom of little crazy people. I get to be a substitute, so I get to come in and whenever I want and be a teacher, and I don't have to write the lesson plans. It's a pretty sweet game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I started off as a substitute teacher. Those were the days when you didn't have to stress, even though when I first started teaching, I started off as a long-term sub and they weren't sure if I was going to stay. And then, by the end of the subbing time period, they're like, hey, you're really good with the kids, so you should stay. I was like, ok, cool, and then four years later they let me go because of stupid licensing reasons. Those were not good times. You know what else isn't good times? When someone goes around using one of those air things to shoot people in the head. Those are not good times either, and that's what happens in this movie we're going to talk about.
Speaker 3:What kind of transition is that? Yeah, which is no country for old men? Nope, nope, no country for old men. This is not a country for old men. That's the summary. I feel like that's the synopsis, right there.
Speaker 1:Well, no, I got to go over this synopsis. Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande. No Country for Old Men stars Tommy Lee Jones, javier Bardem, josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson. So this is another movie by the Coen brothers which is completely different from Fargo and the Big Lebowski Katie. How different is this movie from those other two?
Speaker 3:Well, the other two are supposed to be funny and this is not supposed to be funny funny. There's nothing funny at all at any point well, I see, I disagree.
Speaker 1:I think there are little moments of tiny humor because tommy lee jones plays this older officer who's kind of like in his, in his ways of right and wrong and it kind of at moments it kind of reminds me of the police officer in fargo, you know, stuck in their own ways, has a certain way of thinking about how the world works, and I has moments of trying to do little quips and little one liners. So I would disagree when people might say that this movie has no humor. Is it as humorous as Fargo? Or, trying to be as humorous as Big Lebowski? No, no, it's not. But but I would disagree that there's no humor whatsoever. I mean, I think even Javier Bardem's character has like, kind of is very sarcastic, and so there are moments where it's uncomfortable to laugh, but you do laugh at him because he's kind of, yeah, crazy and sarcastic.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's fair, it's kind kind of like so in fargo there was the absolute ridiculous wood chipper scene and yeah, I guess if you, if you sort of look at some of the violence, it's could potentially it's not funny but it's like what makes you, makes you just shake your head. Anyway, let's go right into it. I think I'd never seen this. You said you'd seen it before. Um, I watched it with scott, who had seen it years ago.
Speaker 3:I didn't realize this came out like a long time ago. I was in high school when this came out. Um, I had heard I've heard that title a bunch of times couldn't tell you anything about it whatsoever and the only thing I knew about this was the candy wrapper uncrinkling scene, which happens in a very heated exchange about a coin to us which I'll maybe talk about later. But there's this moment where the guy's like opening candy wrapper and it just like slowly crinkles open. And I remember seeing some random video once that was just talking about the Coen brothers and how they use something simple like that to just create about the towin brothers, and how they use something simple like that to just create dead space and almost build tension with something as random as that yeah, I had seen this years ago.
Speaker 1:It came out in 2007. I had already graduated high school by then and so I I think I remember not liking it when I first saw it and then I watched it like a couple of months ago it was on Turner Classic Movies, so this is considered a modern day classic and I remember not liking it again because I didn't like the ending, because I didn't understand it. But this time, when I watched it the third time they say third time's a charm I looked up an article because I was like you know what I have to under understand what this ending is supposed to mean. And then I found this article and I sent it to you, katie, and it actually made me appreciate this movie a lot more.
Speaker 1:Because the title is no country for old men and, like I stated before, tommy lee jones character has a way of seeing right and wrong, good and evil, and he has a way of kind of trying to tackle it and he comes to the conclusion at the end of the movie that he's just not the right guy for the job and this movie at the end kind of does like a time jump.
Speaker 1:I I'm assuming where he has retired. I guess we can go over the ending if you want to Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the movie. But he is explaining to his wife these two dreams that he has, one involving his father giving him money and then him losing it, and then another one where his father is going before him with a horn, with fire, and he's saying that he's hoping that his father will meet him somewhere in the future. It's kind of they're both kind of vague dreams, but then I found this article and it kind of dives into it. But before we talk about what those dreams could mean, what did you get from the ending of this movie? Did you feel it? It was a clear conclusion.
Speaker 4:I mean what?
Speaker 3:no, no no, no, well, yes and no, sorry, that's I'm jumping to conclusion. Well, the ending is good for the movie and I think it's poetic and I think it spells the whole message of the movie, which is this is no longer a country for old men, this is we're moving and times are changing. I think is the premise of this movie just saying, hey, sometimes life sucks and there's nothing we can do about it, and crime is always going to get away from you. I'm sure this is relevant. I mean, this is very relevant topic today.
Speaker 3:I'm sure if you work at the border, you know this takes place around the border. I'm sure Border Patrol feels, you know would empathize with this movie a lot or even big cities feeling like crime is just out of control and you're never going to win. So on that side, I understand the ending because you really don't get closure. But that's also, I guess, for me as a movie watcher. That's a negative. I just couldn't stand. You don't get closure at the end of this movie really, or you don't get closure on who you want. The bad guy doesn't get caught yeah, it's very open ending.
Speaker 1:So there's multiple scenes where you don't know what's going to happen. It kind of leaves it up into interpretation, one being with javier bardem's character. He gets in a car crash and then essentially just walks away. And then also josh brolin's character's wife. You don't know whether javier bardem's villain murders her or not. It's it's just very like you said.
Speaker 1:It's very frustrating for for a movie watcher to a certain extent, because if you're the one of those people who want a clear ending, it's not there. But also, like what you said, there are people out there who appreciate artistic, open, open for interpretation endings and if you're that type of person, this is the movie for you. But I I like, like I said after I read that article, I really do appreciate this movie a lot more. It has meaning, it has depth, it has, again, multiple interpretations. I think it is a modern day classic movie and that's why it was on Turner Classic Movies. So sorry to go down that spiel about the ending, because it's just interesting to me. So let's go into our likes and dislikes of this movie. What did you like about this movie?
Speaker 3:What did I like about this movie? Sorry, my child is crying in the background. Um, my son is currently crying in the background because he is supposed to be asleep but he doesn't like the color of his nightlight right now. What you know tough life. What's even worse is, you know, getting shot by a cattle thing.
Speaker 3:Okay, so so you said dislike, like I hadn't probably more like, even though this is not my usual genre, because it really kept me on my toes a lot. If I had to give it a dislike, it would be that it was scary and violent and lots of main characters die and you feel like the bad guy wins in the end, like when we, you know, watched Chinatown. You're like, hold on a second, I don't like this. But honestly, nathan, I had mostly positive Like for a kind of thriller. It was good. I liked that. It was kind of country Out in the country, it's not. I feel like I hadn't seen movies in that area of the country very often and I thought what's his name?
Speaker 3:Javier barnum was an absolutely incredible villain. Oh my gosh, so good. In fact I was. I was kind of researching him. Apparently they, these people, did a big survey of all the people who are considered with mental illness in movies or kind of like you know, know, maybe more than just mental illness, like, maybe psycho level. And apparently he was listed as like one of the top, like the top best examples of like what an actual psycho or like psychotic killer is like, like he was the most accurate to someone who was like that and I thought it was great Cause he wasn't over the top.
Speaker 3:He was, I don't know. He was flawless and he said so much without saying a lot in my opinion. And the wig was unbelievable. It looked ridiculous on him and the last time I had seen him in a movie was that ricardo's movie you made me watch I love lucy, which is like fun, cool, good looking, go suave guy. And then you have this creepy thin. It reminds me of Charlie Daniels, the creepy thin man with his nasty sleek down hair, and then I also forgot he was the same. He was also a weird wigged villain in a James Bond movie. He's pretty dynamic, except also maybe he's just a villain with bad wigs is his thing.
Speaker 1:Well, he was also just recently in dune part two, I believe he was in that movie just just recently. So he's a very versatile actor. He's very good at becoming his characters and diving into it and obviously that's one of the number one likes of this film is just every single performance was great, even Josh Brolin's wife's character, even though sometimes she was kind of hokey and I think she was supposed to be. Though, again, I think there was supposed to be those little nuanced characters that remind you of Fargo and you know they're kind of stereotypical Western characters and I think she was one of them. So that's why I kind of gave that a pass a little bit for her acting. But yeah, the story was compelling.
Speaker 1:Javier Bardem was, like you said, fantastic. There was no weak link in this movie. Even though the ending was kind of abrupt a little bit and open ending, it was still, like we just discussed, very poetic and very it does it fits for today that the world around us it's just chaos sometimes, and Javier Bardem is like the epitome of that chaos, because some people say that he's supposed to be a real person, some people say he's just supposed to represent a manifestation of violence and chaos in the world and it just keeps on going and there's no end in sight. And so that's why his character kind of gets away, because there's no end to the chaos. You don't know where it's going to go, you don't know if it'll ever end or if it'll just keep on going.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're right, nathan, and on top of that you think about it's not just him, right, you have drug smuggling. You have like we, we open the movie on a scene where all these uh, I'm just think, I'm assuming they're mexican because they're right by the border, so all these mexican guys have maybe potentially we never really get closure, but they've had a big shootout and the main characters that you love actually get shot by a big bunch of Mexicans in the back of a truck, not by our main villain. And so, yeah, I mean, it's not just Javier's character that is the bad guy, there's lots of bad guys, and again, and then the drug problem. So it really does make you think about all the evils in the world.
Speaker 3:I guess, nathan, even though one of my probably biggest dislikes before I got on here, one of my biggest dislikes was, of course, with like two main characters die, including sorry, spoiler, spoiler alert Woody Harrelson is in it and then he dies pretty quickly and you're just like what the heck? But then I pause and I stop and I think and I'm like well, the people that died, the two guys that died, had decisions to make and they made bad decisions and unfortunately there was high consequences, but their decisions kind of led them to where they were, and so in some ways you looked at the villain. He was very much. He had kind of like a joker vibe to him of like hey, I'm leaving everything up to chance, and he was kind of taking justice in those hands. We need to talk about something really important, and scott told me that when the first time he watched this, he looked it up as well.
Speaker 3:The weapon of choice in this movie is incredible. That was maybe one of my favorite parts was how creative it is. Now, of course, this is based on a book, so obviously the Coen brothers didn't come up with it, but would you like to explain what it was? Do you know what this device is being from? You know, a farming state?
Speaker 1:yes, I'm from a farming state. That means I'm an expert in all things farm.
Speaker 3:I know I say that because listen scott told me that the north carolina state fair was like always, had all this crazy ag stuff, he told me. Scott told me he stuck his arm inside of a cow. Have you done that? I have not, but I remember that's a thing you can do well I remember pig races.
Speaker 1:That's all I remember from the state fair. Actually it might be the the county fair. They did like pig races and stuff. But I mean I, I see now you put me on the spot. I don't know what the name of it is uh, it's a cattle prod.
Speaker 3:It's not a cattle prod, it's yeah, scott, what is the thing? What's the air compressor?
Speaker 1:or something. What's the thing? What's the device? Air compressor or something? What's the?
Speaker 3:thing that the villain used in the movie.
Speaker 4:They used it to euthanize cattle Like a rod that punches out.
Speaker 1:Like that far Well.
Speaker 2:I don't know the name of it though.
Speaker 1:I don't know the name of it. Yeah, I don't know the name either, but essentially what it is.
Speaker 3:You don't know the name of it. Well, it's like an air tank and it just shoots out a little thing and it's supposed to be a very humane.
Speaker 1:It's an air compressor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a humane way that they, you know, call it humane. You're killing things, but that is how they humanely kill and slaughter cattle is. They do that thing to basically kill. They go right through the head and so I mean even thinking from a murder weapon standpoint. That means there's never bullets, like there's a moment in this in the movie where they're like there was no bullets. How is there no bullets? And man, that was pretty epic and then he used it to like punch through doors uh and the name of this weapon.
Speaker 1:The name of this weapon is a captive bolt stunner. A bolt stunner, it's similar to a bolt cattle gun used in the slaughterhouses and it symbolizes his treatment of his victims as disposable and interchangeable it's disturbing, but it's also, like I said, pretty clever well, and it goes back to what you said about how the main characters in this movie, you know, die um, they're disposable, they're expendable.
Speaker 1:There is no safe person in a world of chaos. And the fact that they have such a star-studded cast like woody harrelson and josh brolin and they allow these characters to die and also to go back to the fact that josh brolin's character dies because of drug cartel people, if you, if you notice, javier bardem's character is still very central to the drug cartel thing too. He's, he's like central to everything wrong going around in this movie. So, yes, some people might see it as a random hit by drug cartel people, but if you really notice, javier Bardem is connected to everything that goes on wrong in this film. So I think it just goes back to showing that his character is like a manifestation of chaos and violence in the world because he's connected in some way to everything violent in this movie it's violent, but you know what, because of the type of weapon, there was not a lot of blood, yeah, not too too terribly much, because it's just in and out.
Speaker 3:Um, I I don't want to have much more else to say other than I actually really, surprisingly did like this movie, um, but I have to say my favorite scene was this very long, and I mentioned earlier about the candy wrap scene the scene where he pulls off at a gas station and he's just having this conversation with this friendly old man who's at a gas station and it's just like five minute long scene and you know that he's about to kill this man, or you have a feeling he's gonna kill him and you're just like five minute long scene and you know that he's about to kill this man, or you're have a feeling he's going to kill him and you're just like okay, okay, okay, you're waiting. And there's this, all this tension, tension, tension building, and I just thought that was great cinema. I love how much tension there was. It could have been a really dragging scene, but to me it was bragging at all. It just built and built and built even more.
Speaker 3:Um, it essentially comes down to the guy's life and he chooses the right side of the coin, and luckily he does, uh, which is awesome. But then of course there's there's other cases where I thought for sure that was not going to happen, like at the end when another young woman dies. I thought for sure this man was going to get justice, but um, I think she chose the wrong side of the coin she actually says she's not gonna call it, she doesn't want fate to be the deciding factor whether she lives or dies oh, yeah, and so it was.
Speaker 1:it was just, it was really. I mean, after reading that article. I should have just read that article the first time I watched this movie, because I really did like it a lot more when I understood everything that was going on. And I guess that's that's today's society we want everything explained to us, and if it's not explained to us, then we don't like it, which I, you know, give people a hard time.
Speaker 3:Listen, I hear you on that, but you cannot convince me that the Big Lebowski means anything more than I don't care how many articles I read, that movie was one I was saying now, now I want to look for an article that explains that whole movie.
Speaker 1:Maybe I'll like it, probably not. But going to dislikes though, I don't think there really was any dislikes, which is crazy, because the first time, first two times I watched this movie, I did not like it whatsoever. But thank the lord for that article, because now I did not have any dislikes and I really do. I would consider this a modern day classic.
Speaker 3:Now that I understand everything, yeah, I think it's really good. I think I really appreciate everything Tommy Lee Jones' character is saying at the end. I think it really wraps up. But at the same time I did actually feel like that scene drug on, Like I didn't fast forward or anything, but it did feel longer than like it just kept going, going, going. Um, but what would you rate this bad boy? I'm assuming it's going to be pretty high.
Speaker 1:I would give it a close, a close 5.5 out of six, because I do consider a modern day classic, um. But, like you said, the ending is still a little too ambiguous for me, so that's why I don't give it a perfect six. But now that I understand more of it, I can appreciate it a whole lot more. So yeah, 5.5 for me what about you?
Speaker 3:I really need to have my list of who I've ranked as a six in the forefront of my mind, because I want to give it a six, but it just doesn't feel like it's the best movie I've seen in our list, so I'm gonna give it a 5.5 as well. And as much as it's interesting for me to say this, I think the ending was actually perfect. I won't spoil it, but there is a moment where you think he's gonna finally come to judgment and then, very cleverly, he does not so that is no country for old men.
Speaker 1:Go check it out. It is again a modern day classic and next tuesday we're going to talk about an actual classic movie. Take a listen to this clip now. If you're wondering why it was so quiet the entire time for that whole clip, except for the music it's because Katie and I are talking about a classic Charlie Chaplin film called the kid. Not to be confused with the Disney movie with Bruce Willis, and not to be confused with the other, the kid movie about Billy the kid. This is about Charlie Chaplin who adopts a little child and comedy ensues, heartwarming moments ensue. Katie, have you? I'm assuming you have not, because it's a silent film but have you ever seen the kid? I figured not.
Speaker 3:So that's what it has to do with silence, then I'm count me out. I'm not. Silence is not in my vocabulary you could have fooled me uh, scott, my wonderful spouse, what would you rate? No country for old men out of six stars, keeping in mind that throughout the whole time watching it, you kept telling me that's not medically accurate, that's not right.
Speaker 4:I feel like I would give it a four and a half. I feel like it was. It was good and I think that the guy who plays the javier I think he's a very convincing sociopath and makes it feel more consistent with what I would expect. I feel like there's points where they were artistic in ways that my simple self does not resonate with me.
Speaker 3:You just want pure John Wick action, huh.
Speaker 4:I just, yeah, have him fall down 53 flights of stairs and then pop up and keep going.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all this is entertaining. What was the most unrealistic thing? Because you meant multiple times in the movie.
Speaker 4:you were like that's not accurate I feel like the thought of someone having a compound fracture where their bone is sticking out of their elbow and then actually manipulating that in any way without any true that does take a psychopath. That would not happen. Also, gunshot wound to the abdomen and then we run around for the rest of the movie. No, you didn't. You're sick as steak. You got a fever. You were before those guys shot you in the hotel room.
Speaker 1:And that's why Javier Bardem's character is a manifestation of chaos, probably not supposed to represent an actual person amen understood is that, is that the artistic?
Speaker 4:is that what the thespian is, a? It's a manifestation. I just I don't think about movies this much I'm such a dude.
