No Country for Old Men

[mack 44]

Ed Tom goes in the room where Moss was killed and it's implied that Anton is in there, right behind the door it'd seem. He sees the deadbolt shot out and goes in, sees the empty duct and checks out the bathroom.

The body in the pool is the poolwhore who was flirting with Moss and said "beer leads to more beer." My guess is she was put up to it by the gang because who's stalking a cowboy walking around a motel for a day or two?

[troy 12]

After reading the book I think I might be able to clear up a few of the questions.

Firstly, there was exactly 2.4M of which Carla Jean received only 7K from Moss, and by the time Chigurh arrived all the money had been spent. It is also stated in the book the Chigurh did indeed kill Carla Jean.

Concerning the motel Ed Tom/Chigurh scene, the book offers a slightly different scenario. Chigurh is waiting in his car in the parking lot when Ed Tom arrives, and upon entering the room Ed Tom realizes this and attempts to set a trap for Chigurh utilizing the local police, which Chigurh evades.

The motel girl character is also different in the book, as it is a 15 year old Moss picks up hitch-hiking.

[mack 44]

That evil, evil man. Speaking of Coen Bros., I can't wait for the Spaghetti Western they are getting ready to make:

WENN reports that the brothers want to go all out in Spaghetti Western style, including going even further on content that won’t be for the weak of heart, with primitive torture methods used in the battle between cowboys and Indians. ...Joel Cohen [sic] warns: ”We've written a western with a lot of violence in it. There's scalping and hanging ... it's good. Indians torturing people with ants, cutting their eyelids off.”

..."It's a proper western, a real western, set in the 1870s. It's got a scene that no one will ever forget because of one particular chicken."

"Chickenlover."

[LkptTiger 1]

Sounds pretty gruesome, but it also sounds like it's at least got some substance, which automatically makes it better than the "gratuitous violence for the sake of gratuitous violence" movies like SAW and all those other shitty films of the same mindless genre.

[hunterphfr 12]

I wish I had known the dream sequence was going to be the end of the movie. I would have paid more attention, my attention had started to drift by then.

[sjsharks11 0]

I wish I had known the dream sequence was going to be the end of the movie. I would have paid more attention, my attention had started to drift by then.

I'm with you there. Probably one of the worst endings I've ever seen, pretty good other then that though, it seemed like they just got bored making the movie and had more important things to do at that instant in time and decided to end it.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

I liked it. I didnt like the dream talk at the end. IMO, end the movie with the car accident and assume he died. after that I was bleh about.

I saw the car accident coming from a mile away. as soon as the light change was shown... See, with the girl saying "you dont just decide by a flip of the coin," a random act (in that it's 50-50), and if his life was being decided by a random act, perfect ending and perfect justice. I was disappointed to see he survived and that the movie continued.

[troy 12]

One of the large metaphors in the movie though is the erosion of society by modern times, perpetuated by the super villainous such as Anton, so having him killed in the car crash would have nullified that aspect.

[mack 44]

The theme for the movie and the book seems to be this: Good doesn't beat evil, and if good wants to survive, good should get the fuck out of the way if it sees evil coming, and keep its head down

[mrusse01 0]

On the other hand though, if Anton really was there and didn't kill Ed Tom it adds to Anton's skewed ethos though, because maybe since he had no interaction with Ed Tom he had no reason to kill him. Then again, those he felt he didn't "need" to kill seemed to get handed a coin toss. Still though, my thoughts are that if Anton was there at the same time he would have killed him. I think you nailed it though by saying that scene's real purpose is just for tension and it worked.

I'm trying to figure out the significance of the bathroom window being locked from the inside.

Just saw the movie and had to comment on it...have it downloaded so I was able to go back and re-view a few scenes.

For me the biggest question mark by far was the scene where Ed Tom goes into the motel room in El Paso alone.

After a few viewings I've come only one possible conclusion:

When they show the bathroom window lock, it is actually UNLOCKED, which would signify Anton snuck out as Tom was coming in the room. Looking at it a few times, I'm pretty much convinced now that lock is in the open position...that's really the only thing that could make sense, why else would they show it?

As far as the money, I think Anton has it for sure. When he went into the first motel room and killed the three mexicans, he opened up the grate and saw the dust trail in the vent, this indicates he knew the money was up there at some point. So in the hotel room in El Paso it makes perfect sense that he would look in the vent, and the quarter/dime on the floor just confirms it really.

I also think Anton killed the wife, obviously he is checking the bottom of his boots for blood, as the positioning in the room with him in the corner he would have had to step over her body to leave, and therefore quite possibly could have gotten blood on them.

[cxo 0]

Alright, I'm completely late to the party on this movie, I know it, but an instant classic it is. You have to love how their bad guy doesn't have the token "sudden change of heart" at the end like so many others. Excellent.

[djosbun 0]

I've heard that this movie is a definate must-see. I have heard people complain about the ending but i've heard others say the ending goes right along with the main topic of the movie.

[mack 44]

People who need to be spoon-fed hate the ending. It gave me a "WTF" feeling for a second but it goes with the movie.

[mrusse01 0]

I think I would be pissed if I saw it in theatres, there is a lot of mumbling and you need to watch very closely.

[cxo 0]

I'm sure no one feels like talking about this movie anymore, but I watched it a second time last night and picked up a lot more than the first time through.

I guess spoiler alert if you still haven't seen it, by the way.

I think Anton knew there was a transponder in the satchel as soon as he found the transmitter at the shootout site. But what I don't get is who and why he was with the other two men. Is that what his supposed job is? That threw me a bit.

Also, my guess is that Anton was in the hotel room when Ed Tom showed up. Going back to when Moss bought the second hotel room behind the other one, to pull the money out of the vent, I believe Anton was simply in the room behind where the crime scene was. Why though, after all that time, is what I don't get. Is that possibly where he got the money?

One of my new all-time favorite movie lines also:

"I can't even afford to pay for my own mother's funeral,"

"I wouldn't worry about it."

[mrusse01 0]

Also, my guess is that Anton was in the hotel room when Ed Tom showed up. Going back to when Moss bought the second hotel room behind the other one, to pull the money out of the vent, I believe Anton was simply in the room behind where the crime scene was. Why though, after all that time, is what I don't get. Is that possibly where he got the money?

I still think it makes the most sense that Anton was in the same hotel room Ed Tom entered and he snuck out the bathroom window. Why else would they show that shot of the lock on the window?

[ronnychencharik 0]

According to the book Chigurh was not in the room. He went and got the money out of the duct, left the room and got into his car. When he was about to leave he noticed Ed Tom's cruiser pull into the parking lot. So he leaned his seat bacl and waited for him to leave.

Pages 242-246

Sorry if this had already been posted.

[-brady2 0]

frig i want to read the book or rent this again, i hardly understood any of it, i couldn't hear half the crap tehy said.

I wish I had known the dream sequence was going to be the end of the movie. I would have paid more attention, my attention had started to drift by then.

same, i wasn't really listening to it well enough.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

I bought the DVD last night after never seeing the movie before. I really liked it.

I agree that it was shitty that Moss got killed and they didnt really show it.

Why was the sherriffs father in a wheelchair living in a run down nasty dilapidated place?

I'm no movie expert or anything but the only tie in I could come up with that hasnt already been mentioned to explain the ending of the movie with the sheriff is that he knows to do his job he may die and that its not a glorious and sometimes unsatisfying position. He knows he is getting older, slower, and less able to keep up with the crime. Anton is younger, stronger, faster etc. etc. and basically the old sheriff is in no position to do anything about it. Therefore, he retires, finally realizing this is no place for an old man to be.. fighting killers and chasing down drugs and money.

no country for old men.

make sense? :) lol.

[Jason Harris 31]

Yes, I believe you are correct.

With the way the movie opened with Ed Tom's monologue and ended with his dreams, it's apparent that the story may have been about Anton and Moss' cat and mouse game, but the theme of the movie was Ed Tom realizing the world was passing him by, both technologically and emotionally. I think that was obscured by the suddenness in which the movie ended, particularly since it didn't seem all that important to hear TLJ talk about his dreams.

I think the point of the dreams (and movie) might have sunk in better if they added one more scene fading out with TLJ working on the ranch.

[troy 12]

I bought the DVD last night after never seeing the movie before. I really liked it.

I agree that it was shitty that Moss got killed and they didnt really show it.

Why was the sherriffs father in a wheelchair living in a run down nasty dilapidated place?

I'm no movie expert or anything but the only tie in I could come up with that hasnt already been mentioned to explain the ending of the movie with the sheriff is that he knows to do his job he may die and that its not a glorious and sometimes unsatisfying position. He knows he is getting older, slower, and less able to keep up with the crime. Anton is younger, stronger, faster etc. etc. and basically the old sheriff is in no position to do anything about it. Therefore, he retires, finally realizing this is no place for an old man to be.. fighting killers and chasing down drugs and money.

no country for old men.

make sense? :) lol.

That wasn't his father. If you listen to Ed Tom's last dream sequence you hear him say his father died young and that, technically, he was an older man than his father ever was.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

True. I remember that part. Then who the hell was that dude in the wheelchair?

[troy 12]

In the book he's just referred to as "old man". I'd assume he's some sort of relative as Loretta sends him letters regarding current events in the family and he has some knowledge about family history.

[-brady2 0]

don't they mention him as his brother? or uncle or something?

[mack 44]

It was his father's brother/uncle.