Saturday, April 26, 2008
BLEAK GENIUS
Today's film was the Coen Brothers' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's
This is a movie of a book that I read.
A violation of a principle: No sequels, no remakes, no books of movies that I have seen or movies of books I have read.
That said, this film follows McCarthy's pulpy western/stalker/good versus evil story almost scene for scene.
That is as I remember it and, now, I have confirmed by checking it out.
That said, I will have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the book and hated the underlying message. Even if it is true.
Evil remains in the world, unchecked and is growing. No matter what you do.
Bleak.
But both McCarthy and the Coens (that's them to the left) catch you both ways when you see this truth. I want to see evil doing its thing. As long as it doesn't touch me.
This is a western because there are very clear good (Tommy Lee Jones) and bad guys (Javier Badem) and in the middle is an innocent who is stubborn and resourceful even if he is a little dumb (Josh Brolin).
There is another in-between guy who tries to stop the madness. (Woody Harrelson).
It is a stalker film because we have the utterly psychotic serial killer Bardem wading his homicidal way through any human who is in his path.
Good versus evil because, like I said, the reflection is on the irredeemable evil that is in the world and the fear that it is growing. There is a reverse take on this when Jones meets an old deputy who reminds him of some pretty evil shit that happened to his granddad.
In the middle of all this is a film that is worth watching no matter what the genré or message.
It is clean cut and clear and never wavers. It is all pure Coen. Nicely done.
Did it work on me?
I don't know. I felt a consistent fear of impending doom even when I knew that they were turning the screws on me.
It works. Totally.
Would this be a film that I would want to see again? No.
I don't like the message and I don't want to see that much shit happen to people any more.
I also could not stand to see Bardem's crazy haircut one more time.
And that is another point which bears mention.
There are some really funny bits plopped down in the middle of the mayhem. A Coen trademark.
There is even the funny redneck mother-in law. A spoiler. She gets killed.
Bardem's haircut is the beginning of the dark humor as well as his way of toying with his prey. Harrelson is pretty good at the same thing. Brolin's whole persona is humorous and Tommy Lee Jones is given full rein with his dry, slow humor.
So the film hits all the emotions. Conflicts. Values.
A full bore experience.
Labels: film
