By Toma Lynn Smith
Set in 1980 Texas, this movie is wicked. Flesh wounds, a car bombing and strangulation are only part of it. The director brothers Ethan and Joel Coen (“Fargo,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”) once again bring originality to the theater screen.
“No Country For Old Men” is correct; this movie shows the chasing down of a roughneck by a mass murderer. The murderer would make the Terminator shake his knees with his homemade weapons and he is only concerned about not getting blood on his clothes or shoes. “Be afraid, be very afraid.”
Javier Bardem plays this sinister role with almost too much ease. He may be best known for his portrayal of Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas in the 2000 movie, “Before Night Falls.” He was nominated for best actor for both the Oscar and Golden Globe-Drama awards. His role in ‘Country’ will override that without a doubt.
The Spaniard actor also shares the screen with veteran actor Tommy Lee Jones, who plays SheriffBell. As rugged as always with plenty of wit to spare, think of his role in the “Fugitive” with just a dash of “Men In Black.” He is funny, but this does not mean the movie is a comedy. It is a thriller-drama-action masterpiece.
The accents of these Texan roles are on point, to the point you can’t believe people really talk like that and it will make you say, “huh.”
It’s hard to say who the star of the film is. If need be, it would have to be the character Llewelyn Moss played by Josh Brolin with perfection. He comes across corpses, bullet-ridden trucks, plenty of drugs left behind and 2 million dollars.
Of course he chooses to grab the money. With that, he puts he and his adorable wife Carla Jean (Kelly MacDonald) in danger. Along with Bardem’s character Anton Chigurh, he has drug dealers on his tail deadly determined to get the money.
