[Brett_M]

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The transition into the third act comes as Sheriff Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones, hears automatic weapons fire in the distance. He drives toward that and sees what has just happened between Llewellyn and the killer Chigurh. Later, the sheriff returns to the motel room to search it again because he seems to sense that Chigurh is close, so he holds back from looking any further. All he has to do was look in one more spot, where the killer is waiting, or hiding, and one or both of them would be killed.

I could be wrong, but wasn't Moss killed by more drug dealers in a pick-up truck? They peeled out, shooting up the place, leaving one wounded man behind in the parking lot. Chigurh came later to get the money.

[Thi Them]

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I could be wrong, but wasn't Moss killed by more drug dealers in a pick-up truck?

Yes he was. The mother-in-law helped the Mexicans find him. If there's one thing I didn't like about the movie, it was her.

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The sight of Chigurh wiping his feet on the ground as he leaves the old frame house tells us what became of the poor girl inside.

He was actually just checking the bottom of his shoes, not wiping them on the ground.

~T

[Richard--W]

It's such a great film.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett_M

I could be wrong, but wasn't Moss killed by more drug dealers in a pick-up truck? They peeled out, shooting up the place, leaving one wounded man behind in the parking lot. Chigurh came later to get the money.

You're not wrong. My impression is that Chigurh is already there when the drug dealers arrive in the pick-up truck and later he returns to the scene of the crime, ahead of the sheriff, to get the money. It is at this point that the Coens change the point of view of the story, and drop us in on the middle of a scene, which is a bit jarring at first viewing. Coherent, but intentionally and brilliantly jarring because it tells us to expect the unexpected. One of the lawmen Sheriff Bell talks to mentions that Chigurh had returned to the scene of an earlier crime, so that the Sheriff decides to try, then he hears the gunfire in the distance and follows the sound. The scene where Sheriff Bell searches the hotel room while Chigurh waits to be discovered had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Tommy Lee Jones communicates a man who is unnerved. I intend to see the film a couple more times during which I'll sort out the third act.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thi Them

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He was actually just checking the bottom of his shoes, not wiping them on the ground.
~T

Okay.
But checking the bottom of his shoes indicates the same thing as wiping them, wouldn't you say?

[Quentin]

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Originally Posted by Richard--W

Okay.
But checking the bottom of his shoes indicates the same thing as wiping them, wouldn't you say?

Yes. He's checking for blood.

Also, that's no nightmare Bell has/describes. It is a dream of hope and promise. "And then, I woke up."

You can translate his last line as you see fit. Perhaps, he just woke from the dream and the hope is still present. Or, perhaps this reality that he has been witness to has awakened him to a new truth.

[Thi Them]

I took the dream as meaning that he wasn't ready to join his father yet in death. He didn't want to die against something he didn't understand like Chigur, but he'd rather be a part of this cold, evil world.

~T

[GerardoHP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quentin

That's a debatable point. What assassin goes around using a cattle air-hammer as a weapon? A silenced shotgun?

This film isn't about realism as much as symbolism and theme.

And, we get that in spades.

What assassin goes around using an electric drill (DRILLER KILLER) or a travelling guillotine (TRAUMA)? Obviosuly, the method employed to dispatch people in movies does not in itself signal "symbolism".

For me, what doesn't work is the way NCFOM blends its symbolism with the more realistic aspects of the story. And this is what I think ultimately distinguishes the film from a true masterpiece.

[JonZ]

Sort of related, it seems Ridley Scott is doing Blood Meridian.

[Henry Gale]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Possible spoilers below.





The sight of Chigurh wiping his feet on the ground as he leaves the old frame house tells us what became of the poor girl inside. That gesture leaves no doubt in my mind.

Just to be exactemundo, he wasn't "on the ground" either, he was still on the porch.
Carla Jean was between Chigurth and the bedroom door. There could have been any number of things (yuk!) to check the soles of his shoes for.

[L. Anton Dencklau]

*Why 1980? Is there any reason for it besides the coolness of rotary dial phones and boomer cocaine nostalgia? Bales of cocaine, fallin down like rain...
*It needs to be said that there is something in my brain chemistry that just has antibodies against Coen Brothers movies. I had the exact same reaction to this that I had to Barton Fink, Hudsucker, Lebowski, O Brother, and the others. Enjoyable to watch, well acted, well constructed films that evaporate from my thoughts before I even start the car.
*Largely, I just don't get it. There is brilliant direction on display, but when you reach for deeper territory -- your hand just closes on air. If there is some sort of texas myth creation going on, i'm not seeing it. If the aim is to evoke a nostalgia for time when things were black and white, and there was always a motivation for evil... what world are you living in? If all there is is the nihilism and inevitability of death, is that enough? Enough to make an entertaining film, I guess. I enjoy screen violence whether purposeful or pointless. But when that's all you have; when you don't have exploration, analysis, dissection, emotional reaction, something... then notwithstanding the great acting, camera work, direction... there's no “there” there. Its just evil on film. That's enough for a slasher movie, but not much for masters like the Coens. But as previously mentioned, i've never been able to buy into their brand of fantasia anyway. This film may be the greatest thing since sliced bread to a lot of people, and there is a lot that is really great about it, but if you ask me, you're better off renting Lone Star.

[JonZ]

You pretty much described my opinion of Pulp Fiction perfectly there.

A film everyone else loves but I see as "eh". Ive always found it to be a big nothing.


"The scene where Sheriff Bell searches the hotel room while Chigurh waits to be discovered had me sitting on the edge of my seat."

Why did Sheriff Bell go back to the motel?
Remember the earlier scene where he was asked if he wanted to return to the first crime scens, and he replied unless there were more bodies, there was no point. So what made him want to go back to that scene? Think about it.

Chigurh is there but its up to us to decide if he was there earlier and had to leave the scene in hast and was returning for the money or he arrived late.

I think he arrived late.

[Quentin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GerardoHP

What assassin goes around using an electric drill (DRILLER KILLER) or a travelling guillotine (TRAUMA)? Obviosuly, the method employed to dispatch people in movies does not in itself signal "symbolism".

For me, what doesn't work is the way NCFOM blends its symbolism with the more realistic aspects of the story. And this is what I think ultimately distinguishes the film from a true masterpiece.

I'm not suggesting the silenced shotgun or cattle killer tool are symbols of an