No country for old men

   No Country For Old Men was directed by the Coen brothers. In the opening fourteen minutes all three of the principle characters are introduced and the stage is set. In a word I would call this opening subtle and to go further I would say it is low key. It is clear from the lack of action, though there is violence, in the first fourteen minutes that this is not a rip roaring action based macguffin movie; in fact the said item seems incidental when compared to the development of the characters.

   None of the characters introduced fit the bill for an action movie. Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, the hunter, who is shown to be slow and thorough but an average guy and the 'hero'. Tommy Lee Jones plays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell whom we only hear via the voice over which thematically fits his role in the film as an insightful observer of the fallout of Llewelyn's activities. Javier Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, the principle antagonist.

   The direction is slow, which allows for thinking time as the events unfold. Thinking time is something rarely present in big Hollywood films so immediately this tells you the focus of this film is very different. There are close ups only when required, such as when the money is revealed and Chigurh's weapon is shown, otherwise the camera sticks to medium and long shots to help frame the characters in their surroundings. These two elements, slow paced and mostly medium to long shots, really solidify the atmosphere because you are given so much time to observe the whole picture and helps show the Vastness of the locations.

Also worthy of note is that there is 10 minutes with near to no dialogue, no action and no music, because of how rare elements like this are the artistic direction the film runs with is very obvious from the start.

   In the promotional material for the film there were at least four posters. Three display the bottom half of the three principle characters with a phrase relating to their arc in the film. Each of these has been put through a filter to give it a unique aesthetic. Llewelyn's is the closest to reality -displaying his every day guy side-, Sheriff Bell has a reddish hue -likening it to cowboy films of their hay-day- and Chigurh's is bleached -possibly due to his lack of emotions or a further reference to death-.

  The fourth poster has Llewelyn running from the ghostly face of Chigurh. This looks more like a horror poster than a drama. It paints Chigurh as an almost omnipresent threat which cannot be escaped which is similar to how he is painted in the film.

In depth analysis of Anton Chigurh

   The most interesting element present within the first fourteen minutes of the film is the primary antagonist: Anton Chigurh. His actions throughout the opening of the film are the most worthy of further analysis.

His black attire and dark hair tells us that he is the antagonist and this, like Llewelyn's white hat, is a carryover from the cowboy genre where black equates the bad guy. He is also clearly Spanish and considering that the film is set in America that makes him an outsider which is indicative of the mysterious and unknowable aspect of his character because he is not one of them and is thus outside their understanding. If we look we also see his face is oddly pale and his hair falls like a shroud around him. The pale, almost white, face and shroud like hair intimates to me that Chigurh is meant to be death.

   

  His weapon, the cattle stun, is also indicative of his character and his way of thinking. The weapon, because of it's outlandish nature, once again solidifies the idea that he is an outsider which people struggle to understand. His weapon is so enigmatic that the deputy that brings him in is confused as to its purpose. The weapon, used to kill helpless cattle, and the way he uses it, literally asking the man to stay still while Chigurh presses it against his head, demonstrates that Chigurh thinking of humans as little more than animals that are to be put down when needed.

   Finally in the scene where Chigurh kills the deputy we have a looking straight down shot (usually used to show the character's isolation) showing a crazed expression on Chigurh's face as he strangles the deputy but when the deputy dies Chigurh lapses into a face of calm enjoyment; both of these detach us further from the character solidifying his role as the outsider.