No Country for Old Men- Review

How often do you see a movie that makes you sit in your seat while the credits roll, not in hopes of catching a hidden clip at the very end, but rather to digest in sheer awe what you just watched?

When it comes to No Country for Old Men, the Coen brother's have done exactly that. I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine (we'll call him "The Jeff" from here on out) wherein The Jeff inquired as to what grade I would be giving this movie. He hung the further existence of our friendship on my going with an A+ and, after further consideration and physical threats, I decided to cave.

My definition of A+ is usually synonymous with "perfection." As The Jeff pointed out, that's a rather unfair bar to set for anything. Bioshock, for instance, can be defined as a perfect game without genuinely being a "perfect" game. I couldn't really argue with that. After careful consideration, I could not come up with a single thing to fault No Country for. The acting (Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin) is superb, the dialogue is honed to a razor's edge and the direction is damn-near flawless. With dark humor and gut-wrenching tension spread throughout this tight and lovingly crafted thriller of a film, I can't help but declare its perfection.
I give it an A+
image courtesy of Paramount Vantage