To paraphrase Marilyn Manson, interviewed for VH1's (DISH Network channel 162) Heavy: The Story of Metal, "I've always been more interested in the bad guy." Case in point: Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, playing this month on Starz (DISH Network channel 350).
To tell the truth, I didn't expect much from this one. That could be because No Country for Old Men is based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name. Now, I'm sure Cormac's a nice guy, but he's just a little too showoffy -- Look, Ma! I'm writing! -- to get out of his own way and tell a story.
Ethan and Joel Cohen, directors of the movie, tell a hell of a story, though. And Bardem is as good a bad guy as I've seen since Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
I'm not going to go into details here -- just get Starz and watch it for yourself -- but be aware that No Country for Old Men is one of those "love it or hate it" films. If you want neat answers and black-and-white justice, you won't find it here. If you want characters who stand firmly on either side of the dark/light fence (except maybe for Bardem -- though he does exhibit a mad kind of fairness), you won't find those, either. You will, however, find a film that takes the world as it finds it -- and presents it in terrifyingly beautiful detail.
See it.
