SiteI didn’t get it
I finally got around to watching No Country for Old Men through Netflix last night. I love gritty films like this, where there’s not necessarily a neat, tidy ending. Plus, my expectations were set high because of so many recommendations people had given me.
The acting was superb. I could barely stand to put the movie on pause while I did laundry and took bathroom breaks. I loved the scenes where Javier Bardem’s character asks other characters to call a coin toss. Brilliant. Near the end when he comes out of Carla Jean’s house and checks his feet? Wow. Tommy Lee Jones? Oh my gosh, love him. I even thought Josh Brolin was wonderful, and I stopped thinking of him as “Barbara Streisand’s stepson” about five minutes in. The cinematography was stunning, the pacing relentless, etc., etc.
But then there’s the last scene and the screen goes blank and I’m left sitting there thinking, Is this it? I’m a movie goer who loves ambiguous endings, but I was so confused here I went to a couple movie spoiler sites and read the detailed plot summaries so I could see if I’d missed something. I hadn’t. I just didn’t get it.
What about you? What movies have you seen that you just didn’t get? (I realize this isn’t freelancing related, but heck, we all need to loaf creatively now and then.) [db]
12 Responses to “I didn’t get it”
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Amy
Said this on July 24th, 2008 at 1:09pm:I need to watch it again. I watched it with the other 3 household members, all of whom whined all the way through about how bored they were. It was distracting and annoying, to say the least.
Denise
Said this on July 24th, 2008 at 2:30pm:I haven’t seen that one. I’ve been hooked on renting the two seasons of Jericho these days.
courtney
Said this on July 24th, 2008 at 3:14pm:Oh geez, I said the same thing at the end of No Country. I feel the same way about movies, like the abiguity, etc. I just did not “get” No Country either.
Now, Mulholland Drive…I have watched that movie literally 30 times to piece it together and once I’d think I understood something another thing would throw that theory off. My friend and I would discuss all the possibilities, etc. Finally I threw up my hands and said, “FINE! You win David Lynch!” Although it still bothers me today because I loved the movie, but I feel like I don’t know WHY I loved it.
Maybe I’ll look it up and see if I can find anything.
DianaBurrell
Said this on July 24th, 2008 at 3:21pm:Amy, too funny. How could anyone find this movie boring? My heart was racing every time Javier Bardem came on screen.
And Courtney, reading your comment is a relief to me. For example, I loved the infamous ending of the Sopranos — talk about ambiguous! — but No Country still leaves me cold? disappointed? confused? I’ve done some poking around on the web today, and some film critics were left feeling the same way. (And oh, David Lynch, don’t get me started, although I do love “Blue Velvet.”)
Lanora Mueller
Said this on July 24th, 2008 at 8:13pm:I decided to wait until I get a chance to read or listen to the book before I see the movie.
Cormac McCarthy’s prose is delicious, even if I’ve heard him called a misogynist.
I got hooked while listening to the audio book version of “All the Pretty Horses.” Reminds me of Faulkner, who had social problems but nevertheless wrote sublime fiction.
Terri
Said this on July 25th, 2008 at 9:32am:I didn’t care for the ending, but overall I liked the movie. But does anyone know what the title means? I think Tommy Lee Jones’ speech at the end may have alluded to it, but I couldn’t follow it at all.
suzanne
Said this on July 25th, 2008 at 9:41am:I’ve been a huge Coen brothers fan, and I don’t think I’ve missed one of their films. (But I also love David Lynch, so that could ruin our relationship right there). I think the Coen guys are brilliant. Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Big Lebowski, even Blood Simple. However, I totally agree about the ending of No Country. It just fell flat, for both me and my boyfriend, who is an even bigger fan. I was really disappointed. Like something significant was lost on the editing room floor. I think the main missing ingredient was humor. It left me feeling utterly depressed about life, the universe and everything. Not that a psycho-killer should make you giggle and that would redeem his evil qualities, but in all their other violent films, like Fargo, there’s a lot of genuine humor.
After my despair lifted I felt sort of ripped off, in fact. (I’m being dramatic — I was also blown away by Bardem’s icy character) Maybe they were just trying to make an artful statement about these postmodern times. I can watch Fox News if I want to be depressed.
thanks for bringing this up! It’s ever so much more fun than meeting my deadline…
Debbi
Said this on July 25th, 2008 at 10:41pm:I read the book before I saw the movie, and as I recall, it ended on a similar, unresolved note.
I think the idea was that, no matter how hard the good try, sometimes evil wins. End of story.
As for the title, I think it referred to how the world had changed since the sheriff’s youth. And how evil was becoming more commonplace, even banal–a notion that’s raised throughout the book.
Yeah . . . depressing . . .
Reese
Said this on July 26th, 2008 at 11:29am:Like many people, I loved about 80% of the movie. And then it just went onto a “huh? HUH?” path, and I think it nearly completely ruined the movie. The suspense up until the near end was wonderful, and then it was so anti-climatic and baffling that I was left very let down.
french panic
Said this on July 27th, 2008 at 12:34am:Voice of dissent here: I loved the ending. Absolutely fantastic -because it wasn’t an ending. As you mentioned, there was no tidy clean up at the end; nothing was resolved. This is also why I love short stories. Just a fantastic little slice of *something* that leaves you wanting more, or hits you in the gut, or deflates you. I think I actually stopped breathing for a short moment once the screen went dark. I like the “Whaaaaa…….?” I like it when huge Hollywood films actually surprise me.
I know a lot of people like to be entertained and given happy endings (um, or just…endings…) during films, but I really really REALLY like the ones that are very much true to life. A chunk with no beginning and no end.
Debbi
Said this on July 27th, 2008 at 11:32am:Just so I’m clear on this point, I never said I didn’t like the ending. I just explained what I thought the author was trying to say.
It actually does seem like an appropriate ending, even if it leaves you feeling like things are unresolved. Which they weren’t. But that’s life sometimes, right?
Stamford Talk
Said this on July 27th, 2008 at 9:12pm:French Panic, good point about the short story slice of life idea.
Funny, I ALSO watched this movie last night. As the screen went black, I said out loud, “If this movie ends here I am gonna be pissed-” and the credits came on! It wasn’t that I didn’t like the ending (do any movies have good endings, except for Love Actually?), it’s just that I wanted to know more about Chigur- what a character. I wanted to know how he ended up.
I did laugh a couple of times aloud during the movie- but subdued laughter. I mostly found the film terrifying and screamed out loud several times, causing my husband to say, “Good thing we didn’t see this in a theater.” (I also scream in theatres- I don’t care.) My heart was racing so fast during that movie.
Oh- and WHERE did the money end up???