NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION

[@iliketostayhome]

You're very smart and pleasant. I really enjoy your reactions. For me, I'd like to see you react to Wes Anderson. He has 3 must-see films. It is best to watch them chronologically to see his style progress: 1. Rushmore (1998) 2. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) 3. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) If you ever react to those, I will be happy.

[@CarryOnTom]

Thank you so much! 😊 I've actually never seen a Wes Anderson and I'd love to get into his work. I'll be sure to watch these in the order you suggested!

[@erwinquiachon8054]

I always say that "No Country For Old Men" is about morality. Moss is moral, but very flawed. Because of that, Moss dies. Chigurh is amoral and believes in random violence. In the end, Chigurh is a victim of random violence with a bone sticking out of his arm. The bone sticking out of his arm indicates that he will die soon because he can't seek proper help in the hospital. I remember the book states that he was never found, which leads us to conclude that the cartel disposed of Chigurh's body. The last man standing is Bell, who doesn't realize that he came out on top because he is the most moral person of the the film. There is no indication of any moral flaws in Bell's character. Bell always tries to do the right thing and worries about defeating evil. Bell worries about God never finding him, but his God is his moral integrity, which he never abandons. Moral people worry about the evil in the world often without realizing when they are doing well. His dream in the end indicates that he is following the path of another moral man, his father, who is saving a spot for him (John 14).

[@CarryOnTom]

Fantastic conclusion, that makes so much sense and I have to read the book now. I discover something new every time I think about this movie. The irony of chasing down a man for stolen money and then giving $100 for the boys shirt.... yeah he knew he was done for. That's interesting what you say about the dream at the end; my original interpretation was that Bell was attempting to follow in his father's footsteps, but the dream ends before he can catch up, signifying he's unable to join him on the same podium. He can't be the same lawman his father was because it's a different time, and morality was much simpler when his father was around. It's an incredibly layered story, and one that gives a little bit extra every time you think about it!

[@rg3388]

In addition to the tombstone specifying 1980, Anton observes that a coin dated 1958 is now 22 years old.

[@CarryOnTom]

Ugh how did I miss that! That was such a neat piece of dialogue to establish the time period! Nice catch.

[@rg3388]

@@CarryOnTom Like Tarantino, the Coen brothers like their films to connect and rhyme with each other. Anton pays 69 cents because the Dude writes a check for that amount in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Shooting at an animal from a motor vehicle also occurs in RAISING ARIZONA and O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Commandeering a pickup truck also occurs in RAISING ARIZONA. The Coens also often use subtle religious themes. The “vanity” speech would fit nicely in the Bhagavad Gita. The film’s last line would fit nicely in an autobiography by The Buddha.

[@terryfowler4893]

Quality reaction mate, me and the missus went to see this at the cinema when it came and out, watching on the big screen with the surround sound was immense, as you said said it’s got so many layers and for what it’s worth I think Carla Jean was killed with Anton checking his boots for blood when leaving, Carla Jean was played by Kelly Macdonald a Scottish actress who done a brilliant job on that Texas accent

[@CarryOnTom]

Thanks mate! Of course! I only noticed the 'boot check' when I watched it back. I love that; a nice bit of visual storytelling. And yes I realised Kelly Macdonald was Scottish after watching too! Fantastic performance.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks and happy belated birthday, Tom! 🎉 Yes, I think she lived. 🔸 As someone who adores the work of writers/directors/brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, not all their stuff is this bleak. 😨 They also do really well with mixing humor and profundity. For that vibe, check our RAISING ARIZONA (1987), FARGO (1996), THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998), O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU (2000) and THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (2018). For the mostly stern with a flashes dark wit try the one that put them on the map BLOOD SIMPLE (1984), an excellent remake of a John Wayne classic TRUE GRIT (2010) and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013).

[@CarryOnTom]

Thanks Aunt Ves! The only one on that list I've seen is O Brother Where Art Thou but I've also seen Hail, Caesar! So I'll definitely heck out more Coen brothers. They're certainly tough to react to in real time because their work is incredibly layered. Even watching this back while I was editing I kept thinking "how did I not realise that at the time". It's definitely the type of work you can watch multiple times and learn something new each time. Very talented guys!

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@CarryOnTom Indeed, they are a couple of smarty pants and their work reflects it. I've never been disappointed by them.

[@brandonmartin08]

I don’t know for sure but I always kinda thought that llewelyn’s comment about his mother was to show he was still a bit hazy and buzzed from waking up so quick 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔. And the hotel lady “its got 2 double beds” reminds me SO much of my grandma. Accent, mannerisms, looks and all. She was also in Hell or High water. Another modern Texas western.

[@GilbertMartinezHarpsichord]

Lovely summation at the end. A complicated film. Good to see other people's end thoughts. I may be contrarian to the most common and agreed upon death of Carla Jean. I don't think she got killed, but it sort of doesn't matter. Her defiance derailed Chigurh, and he suddenly becomes "mortal", starting with the car crash. Notice how the only two characters who say "NO" to him are women? I don't know if it meant anything, but it struck me. Cheers from Denmark.

[@CarryOnTom]

That's very observant! I can see the clues that infer her death, but the fact the only other woman who stood defiant to Chigurh survived, could absolutely imply/foreshadow that Carla Jean may have survived. OR like you said, did going against fate and killing Carla Jean without her deciding the coin toss derail his path? Ironically...such a fun film to think about!

[@iliketostayhome]

2:54 it was both the man's neck and his own wrists.

[@CarryOnTom]

Brutal!

[@Jeff_Lichtman]

Kelly MacDonald, who played Carla Jean Moss, is Scottish. Her Texas dialect was perfect. I don't think she ever slipped up and allowed her native accent to slip out. Chigurh didn't kill the trailer park manager because he heard a toilet flush. He's very careful never to leave witnesses. If not for that, she'd have been dead. You suggested that Sheriff Bell didn't care much. That's not it. He felt was powerless in a world he no longer understands. The guy at 29:29 was hauling the bodies of the drug dealers who were found dead at the beginning of the movie. Carson Wells made an educated guess as to where the money would be. He knew that Llewelyn wouldn't try to take it across the border, because it could be confiscated there. So he looked just before the border checkpoint and found it. Carson might have wanted to wait until dark to retrieve the money. There would be less chance of him being spotted in an area where he wasn't supposed to be. "Did he just murder all those chickens?" - You're worried about the chickens?!?!? What about the guy who owns the truck? One theory is that Chigurh was in the room next door when Sheriff Bell entered the room. Another is that it's just Bell's imagination - that Chigurh had already been there and left, and that the sheriff was thinking about what he might run into. Carla Jean never had the money. She was supposed to get it from Llewelyn when she met him in El Paso, but Llewelyn was dead when she arrived. Chigurh did kill Carla Jean. You could see him check his boots for blood when he left the house. He was always concerned about getting blood on himself. Yes, it was a random crash. It shows that even though Chigurh tries to maintain control with his rules, he's still subject to the same whims of chance as anyone else. As he said himself, "If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" I think Chigurh ended up with the money. Llewelyn hid it in the air vent of the motel room. Sheriff Bell noticed that the grate over the vent had been removed by someone who used a coin as a screwdriver. Chigurh did the same thing in the first motel room. One thing that makes this movie so effective is the almost complete lack of non-diegetic sound. It's a very quiet film, and the long silences help build tension.

[@construct3]

I'm sure in editing, you noticed that Anton checked his boots for blood as he was standing on the porch. And that told you that he shot Carla Jean. That one was simple. The movie loses track of the money. But with Llewellyn dead, does it really matter where the money is?

[@CarryOnTom]

I hate missing the simple things... I'm assuming from the unscrewed vent at the motel, that Chigurh did indeed find the money, and if so, there was a sense of irony in the final scene... He spent the whole film hunting down this money, only to carelessly give $100 away for a second hand shirt. In a way if felt like he'd come to terms with his imminent demise and knew that was now his fate. This film's been messing with my head man!

[@construct3]

@@CarryOnTom I don't know whether he found the money. He definitely looked for it in the air conditioning duct, but the duct work was round, and the satchel couldn't have fit in it. I'm assuming that the cartel got the money in the shootout earlier in the day. The shirt at the car crash is paralleled by the coat at the border crossing. A hundred dollars isn't much under such circumstances when 2 million is on the line. The focus of the movie, though, is the Sheriff. The movie starts and ends with the Sheriff's monologues, and his scenes throughout place the movie within a moral framework. ("If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" Anton asks.) When the shootout happens, we are with the Sheriff, too late to help. We're where we're supposed to be because the movie isn't about Llewellyn and the money. The conversation with Ellis, when he says that he expected God to somehow come into his life, and Ellis tells him that expecting to change things is vanity--that scene is the climax of the movie. And his dreams, which close the movie, show that the Sheriff has accepted his place in the world as Ellis told him he must.

[@construct3]

@@CarryOnTom I was writing quickly. So I'll leave the Sheriff's moral journey for you to trace out. He began by announcing, "I'll be a part of this world." By the end, he's arrived at Ellis's conclusions and retired. But I'll pick up a loose thread I left in that post. Anton, himself, has a set of principles--principles that transcend money and drugs. And we hear him state some of those principles in his conversations and observations. He is an angel of death often visiting people at crossroads in their lives. "You've been putting it up your whole life; you just didn't know it," he tells the man at the gas station. "You choose the one tool," he explains at the office, and he agrees not to shoot the accountant if the accountant didn't see him. ("He's kind of a ghost," as the Sheriff says). Carla Jean was compromised by her husband's using her. And so Anton's upholds his end of the bargain. "At what point will you quit asking questions?" Llewellyn had asked her. And we find our answer. At the point when she refuses to play God's dice game. The two boys at the wreck are aslo told, "You didn't see me." So, Anton disappears from the story as suddenly as he enters it. Anton's principles don't contradict Ellis's conclusions. Problems arise when people resist those principles and conclusions. Ellis is an image of God, living in his filthy house surrounded by countless cats. Some of the cats are wild. The rest are just outlaws. They can eat the food Ellis puts out for them or not. It doesn't matter. You and I are among the cats.

[@marievjing]

I really enjoy your videos reactions :) I just wanted to say to not forget to get the "extented cut" for Terminator 2. By the way, I also like Terminator 3. Its only crime was just not be as good as the first 2 ;) Also, I think you should react to the star wars films in "machete order" (great for 1st view). It goes like this : -episode 4,5 -then episode 1,2,3 : the prequels as flashbacks -Rogue one -and only then episode 6 as it was always meant to be watched at last since it's the conclusion ^^ I would aslo like to suggest for you to react to the "Indiana jones trilogy" (also written by Georges Lucas) and "The matrix trilogy" (if you've never seen them before of course)

[@CarryOnTom]

Thanks Marie! Okay T2 Extended coming right up! I'll think about doing the machete order... I did see the prequels when i was a kid so it wouldn't strictly be a 'first time watch' but my memory is so vague it would be nice to revisit them. The machete order sounds like a really cool way to experience the saga too. So maybe we'll just go for it! Indiana jones and the Matrix are totally on the list (more trilogies I can't believe I haven't seen!).

[@rawtrout007]

I ve never seen this movie.

[@aranerem5569]

Is the movie Tarzan The Fearless on the list?

[@Dan-B]

Important distinction: This is a realistic depiction of a psychopathic killer, not a psychopath.

[@Бигдрама]

Фильм хороший, но я считаю его немного переоцененным...🤷

[@thequietrevolution3404]

Never watched the movie or read the book. So, I had to figure out the finale through deduction. Yes, Chigurh killed Carla Jean (he was checking his shoes on the porch). But she didn't call the coin toss. That changed his karma and caused him to now follow in Llewellyn Moss's wake. Analyzing the clues: Moss crashed in the truck, bought a coat from a young man, and perished off screen. Chigurh crashed in the car, bought a shirt from a young man, and soon to also perish off screen. Great reaction!

[@CarryOnTom]

Oh wow that's a great deduction! I never even saw that connection between Llewellyn and Chigurh! If that's true that Carla Jean changed his karma, that makes the ending a whole lot more satisfying!

[@justinbarnett9476]

Yeah, Carla Jean not calling the coin was a much better choice. In the book she called it and lost. This gave her much more dignity. And it definitely fucked up Anton. He’ll be lucky to survive that fracture without losing his arm because I’m sure he isn’t going to a hospital. The badass gets taken out by a dumbass running a red light. It’s a great ending. I love Carla Jean calling Anton on his crazy bullshit. In a way it’s a small victory.