Our first visit to the cinema in 2008 was to see 'No Country for Old Men' directed by the Coen Brothers and taken from the novel by Cormac McCarthy. I haven't read the novel so didn't know what to expect. The film opens with the camera scanning the dry dessicated landscape of rural Texas with a voice-over by the small town sherriff (played by Tommy Lee Jones) talking about the changes he's seen in his life time when sherriffs were not even armed. Then the mood changes with a shocking killing, the first of many. The psychopathic killer, played by Javier Barden, is a truly evil character that will haunt your dreams. He is cold, ruthless, lives by his own murderous code and manages to keep coming back. Think 'The Terminator' with much less humour!
I found the tension almost too much and the gore a mess of blood and guts (literally!). Hitchcock couldn't have played the audience on a string any better. You almost couldnt bear to watch in places. The sherriff representing 'Good' admits defeat in the end and ruminates at the end in retirement as he re-lives his days as a young man, working with his father.
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