No Country for Old Men. Written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan
Coen. The Coen Brothers based the film on Cormac McCarthy’s book of
the same name. McCarthy has what is on the surface a simple style.
It is not. He is an author who is difficult to read. I believe one
must read him nearly in one sitting if possible so the rhythm of his
words and sentences take hold of you as you proceed through the
darkness of his mind. He has a point of view that is not easy to
accept. Reading McCarthy does not mean one has to like or even enjoy
his stories. They have a stunning clarity and thus any of McCarthy's
novels should be easy to translate into a film, only if you accept
his premise that not all is right with the world. Many films by the
Coen Brothers, including their latest, “No Country for Old Men,” are
almost flawless in execution and composition. The framing is good.
The panoramic views set the action beautifully. The
characterizations are spot on, including the scary performance of
Javier Bardem as the killer, Anton
Chigurh; that of Josh Brolin as
Llewellyn Moss, the ambitious Vietnam veteran who falls into an
unexpected treasure; and Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell,
laconic as ever, and the only person of stature in the film who has
any humanity. There is one problem with the movie, though. As with
most of the Coen Brother’s films, this too has no moral center.
Without a conscience, there is no way an objective observer can look
at the relentlessness of this film and ask why am I watching it. Is
it because evil is gaining fast? Is its message that there is no
escape? Don’t look behind you, or else the worst may happen? It
takes considerable talent and skill to do what the Coen Brothers do.
Once you cut through the considerable flash, the film has little
meaning and relevance to the way we live. A sociopathic killer is on
the loose. His purpose is to eliminate everything in his sight. He
easily and without conscience commits one violent act after another
because he feels those who hired him, those whom he seeks to
destroy, and those out to destroy him, have violated his principles.
Sociopaths do have principles. That is why they are dangerous.
Violence on film and in life does not surprise me. Almost no one in
the film has any redeeming quality. Some characters are weak. Others
are victims because of circumstance. Unfortunately, we live in a
world where evil and violence are more common each day. This film
and its headlong pursuit of evil’s apparent strength left me with a
queasy feeling in my stomach. I can live with the idea that no one
wins, but I wonder about a worldview by filmmakers that seems to
applaud evil as a defining part of everyday life. The film will win
many awards, but for all the wrong reasons. Called a “modern day
Western,” it is nothing more than an Italian spaghetti Western
trussed up in a new dress. .................................................................................................................................................................
There Will Be Blood. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
based on an early 20th Century naturalistic novel, “Oil” by Upton
Sinclair. The opening sequence is riveting. The color photography is
dense. The picture, muted. It is almost soundless except for the
noise of digging and hammering. The dirt, noise and intensity allow
us to feel Daniel Day Lewis’s (Daniel Plainview) pain, passion, and
determination. The sequence is a small film unto itself. It
establishes a sense of the main character and his obsessive drive to
succeed. It helps define his competitive spirit, one of the major
themes of the movie. Those few minutes have the feel of a finely
wrought documentary, something that a non-fiction filmmaker would be
proud to have on his or her resume. As the movie expands it becomes
an epic unlike any produced in recent years. We watch Daniel Day
Lewis in what is the performance of the year become a man possessed.
The discovery of oil and the bringing of it to life is all that
matters to him. We see his greed; we feel his drive for self-worth.
We watch the full-blown character who, for reasons that are never
clear, dislikes, distrusts and in time, openly hates every other
human who crosses his path. Early on, Daniel Day Lewis’ acting is
taut, deeply controlled and centered. As the movie widens out the
barren, rugged landscapes of what is supposed to be Bakersfield,
California, become beautiful in a strangely sordid way. Lewis'
character opens to anger, cruelty and an unexplained hatred for his
fellow man. It is as if the director is using the character as a
metaphor about the story of America at that time, how its drive for
success and its enterprise in achieving it, in this case through
oil, is more important than oils use and ultimate benefit to
society. Daniel Day Lewis is once again remarkable. He is strong and
cruel. At times, he is even touching and tender, especially when his
son is young and still unharmed by an accident by an oilrig that
leaves him deaf and unable to speak. Daniel Plainview is more than
willing to sacrifice everything, including his son, to keep his
hands permanently stained with oil, because oil is really all he
loves. Toward the end of the film, we see Lewis as an older man
behind his desk in his mansion. The close-up of a brooding Lewis
sitting in a darkened room talking to his son, now a young married
man who wants to break away from his father, sums up the movie. One
oil-stained hand is on a glass of whiskey, and the other holds a
smoldering cigarette. Lewis throws his son out of his life claiming
he is no longer his son, and by the way, never was his son. He lets
his son know he is now a competitor, the worst attribute a man could
have in Lewis’ world. Paul Dano (Eli Sunday) is a young evangelist
and Plainview’s main nemesis. He opposes everything Plainview stands
for, but, because of his own surprising greed, he eventually
succumbs to the corruptions of everyday life. Eli Sunday is the only
character in the movie who comes close to standing up to Plainview’s
powerful personality. At the climax of the film, in the bowling
alley of Plainview’s mansion, Sunday makes plea for help and a large
sum of money. Plainview, awakened from a drunk, rails against Sunday
whose plea for help falls on deaf ears. Then in a fit of rage,
Plainview explains to Sunday how he has cheated him and others
throughout the years and then murders him, beating him to death with
a ten pin. It is as if he has finally exorcised all his ghosts, and
seemingly, even his spiritual competition. His final words are a
fitting end to the powerful film: “ I am finished.” .................................................................................................................................................................
At NBC News for 35 years, Ron Steinman was bureau chief
in Saigon, Hong Kong and London, was a senior producer on Today and wrote
and produced for Sunday Today. At ABC News Productions, he produced
and wrote documentaries for A&E, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime and the
History Channel. He has a Peabody, a National Headliner award, a
National Press Club award, a International Documentary Festival Gold Camera Award, two American Women in Radio & Television awards and
has been nominated for five Emmy's. He is a partner in
Douglas/Steinman Productions, whose latest documentary, "Luboml: My
Heart Remembers," aired on PBS' WLIW/21 and the History Channel in
Israel, April 29, 2003. He is the author of, "The Soldiers 'Story",
"Women in Vietnam," and most recently, "Inside Television's First
War: A Saigon Journal," University of Missouri Press, 2002.
Mo
Chigurh; that of Josh Brolin as
Llewellyn Moss, the ambitious Vietnam veteran who falls into an
unexpected treasure; and Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell,
laconic as ever, and the only person of stature in the film who has
any humanity. There is one problem with the movie, though. As with
most of the Coen Brother’s films, this too has no moral center.
Without a conscience, there is no way an objective observer can look
at the relentlessness of this film and ask why am I watching it. Is
it because evil is gaining fast? Is its message that there is no
escape? Don’t look behind you, or else the worst may happen? It
takes considerable talent and skill to do what the Coen Brothers do.
Once you cut through the considerable flash, the film has little
meaning and relevance to the way we live. A sociopathic killer is on
the loose. His purpose is to eliminate everything in his sight. He
easily and without conscience commits one violent act after another
because he feels those who hired him, those whom he seeks to
destroy, and those out to destroy him, have violated his principles.
Sociopaths do have principles. That is why they are dangerous.
Violence on film and in life does not surprise me. Almost no one in
the film has any redeeming quality. Some characters are weak. Others
are victims because of circumstance. Unfortunately, we live in a
world where evil and violence are more common each day. This film
and its headlong pursuit of evil’s apparent strength left me with a
queasy feeling in my stomach. I can live with the idea that no one
wins, but I wonder about a worldview by filmmakers that seems to
applaud evil as a defining part of everyday life. The film will win
many awards, but for all the wrong reasons. Called a “modern day
Western,” it is nothing more than an Italian spaghetti Western
trussed up in a new dress. 
There Will Be Blood. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
based on an early 20th Century naturalistic novel, “Oil” by Upton
Sinclair. The opening sequence is riveting. The color photography is
dense. The picture, muted. It is almost soundless except for the
noise of digging and hammering. The dirt, noise and intensity allow
us to feel Daniel Day Lewis’s (Daniel Plainview) pain, passion, and
determination. The sequence is a small film unto itself. It
establishes a sense of the main character and his obsessive drive to
succeed. It helps define his competitive spirit, one of the major
themes of the movie. Those few minutes have the feel of a finely
wrought documentary, something that a non-fiction filmmaker would be
proud to have on his or her resume. As the movie expands it becomes
an epic unlike any produced in recent years. We watch Daniel Day
Lewis in what is the performance of the year become a man possessed.
The discovery of oil and the bringing of it to life is all that
matters to him. We see his greed; we feel his drive for self-worth.
We watch the full-blown character who, for reasons that are never
clear, dislikes, distrusts and in time, openly hates every other
human who crosses his path. Early on, Daniel Day Lewis’ acting is
taut, deeply controlled and centered. As the movie widens out the
barren, rugged landscapes of what is supposed to be Bakersfield,
California, become beautiful in a strangely sordid way. Lewis'
character opens to anger, cruelty and an unexplained hatred for his
fellow man. It is as if the director is using the character as a
metaphor about the story of America at that time, how its drive for
success and its enterprise in achieving it, in this case through
oil, is more important than oils use and ultimate benefit to
society. Daniel Day Lewis is once again remarkable. He is strong and
cruel. At times, he is even touching and tender, especially when his
son is young and still unharmed by an accident by an oilrig that
leaves him deaf and unable to speak. Daniel Plainview is more than
willing to sacrifice everything, including his son, to keep his
hands permanently stained with oil, because oil is really all he
loves. Toward the end of the film, we see Lewis as an older man
behind his desk in his mansion. The close-up of a brooding Lewis
sitting in a darkened room talking to his son, now a young married
man who wants to break away from his father, sums up the movie. One
oil-stained hand is on a glass of whiskey, and the other holds a
smoldering cigarette. Lewis throws his son out of his life claiming
he is no longer his son, and by the way, never was his son. He lets
his son know he is now a competitor, the worst attribute a man could
have in Lewis’ world. Paul Dano (Eli Sunday) is a young evangelist
and Plainview’s main nemesis. He opposes everything Plainview stands
for, but, because of his own surprising greed, he eventually
succumbs to the corruptions of everyday life. Eli Sunday is the only
character in the movie who comes close to standing up to Plainview’s
powerful personality. At the climax of the film, in the bowling
alley of Plainview’s mansion, Sunday makes plea for help and a large
sum of money. Plainview, awakened from a drunk, rails against Sunday
whose plea for help falls on deaf ears. Then in a fit of rage,
Plainview explains to Sunday how he has cheated him and others
throughout the years and then murders him, beating him to death with
a ten pin. It is as if he has finally exorcised all his ghosts, and
seemingly, even his spiritual competition. His final words are a
fitting end to the powerful film: “ I am finished.”