Coen Brothers Factfile & Review of No Country for Old Men

Joel (born in 1954) and Ethan (1957) Coen are brothers who produce and direct Thriller films. Films produced by the brothers include Fargo, Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Tho, No Country for Old Men & True Grit. 

The brothers often produce and direct the films jointly, combining their experience to create first class films admired around the world for their individuality and unique take on a the Thriller convention. 

Many films directed by the brothers are specific to individual regions. For example, Blood Simple is uniquely linked to Texas, where the film is set and Where Art Thou? also links to the social state of Mississippi, which was in a depression at the time the film was set. Joel and Ethan are renowned for their ability to create distinguished dialogue for the characters in their films, and in some films, such as Fargo, careful attention is paid to observe the dialect in the region where the film is set (Minnesota) 

Films produced by the Coen brothers accurately represent history. It is viewed the brothers accurately examine texts from the past, as a way of bridging the gap between the past and the present. 

Coming from a Jewish family background, the brothers often try to incorporate religion into their work. Some of their films, such as True Grit, have a special religious context, with parts of the film’s narration including passages from the Bible. 

Film Review – No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men, one of the latest films produced by the Coen brothers, breaks the boundaries of the conventions expected of a Thriller. Where most modern thriller movies are set in a city or urban area, No Country for Old Men is not, and is instead set in the countryside in America. 

The film starts with a narration, which is a feature I particularly like, as it gives the audience a glimpse of how the film may develop. Mystery is also created from the outset, as in most modern thrillers, as someone is killed very early on in the film. This leaves the audience very confused, and we want to find out more about why this person has died. The effective use of camera work also adds to the suspense of the scene.

Unusually for a thriller, however, not much dialogue is used in the opening of the film, and no non-diegetic music has been overlaid. This means that the audience can only use the vision to try and work out what is happening. Although this is an interesting effect to use, I personally found it quite hard to understand what is happening in the film, who the characters were, and what their role was within the plot.

In addition, the editing in the film is quite slow paced, which is in contrast to most modern thrillers, where shots are edited together in quick succession. This technique makes the film more realistic, as in reality, action occurs at this pace. 

A lot of the scenes have been set at night-time, which means that the audience cannot fully see what is going on. This further adds to the sense of mystery and confusion surrounding the plot of the film.

Personally, I dislike No Country for Old Men by the Coen Brothers. I feel that the lack of dialogue leaves the audience confused as to what is going on in the film, and the use of cut-away editing at the beginning of the film means that the audience is not given the chance to grasp the plot of the film, or to relate to the main protagonists. Overall, this means that I was left feeling unsure as to what was happening in the film, which ultimately served to spoil my enjoyment.