No Country for Old Men - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Jeff Lebowski · 07-21-2007, 09:05 PM

(warning: mild spoilers)

I got around to reading Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men last week. While it certainly doesn't measure up to The Road, I thought it was still an excellent novel. I particularly enjoyed seeing McCarthy do a story set in the same general location as his border trilogy, yet with a more modern setting (70's). Nobody really matches McCarthy when it comes to imagery and dialogue.

The Chigurh character is what makes this book. One of the more intriguing villians I have seen in quite a while. The scene near the end with Moss's wife is quite well done. Very creepy character.

I wanted to make sure I read the book before the Coen brothers' movie comes out. As you can see by my moniker, I am a huge Coen brothers fan. A Coen brothers movie based on a McCarthy novel sounds like perfection to me. I can't wait to see it. Here is the trailer (Rocky posted it on CB):

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/nocountryforoldmen/trailer/

I was surprised by how many lines in the trailer are verbatim from the book. In fact, it seemed that every scene from the trailer was absolutely true to the novel. Kind of rare these days. However, I will be shocked if they stick with the same ending. That was the one complaint I had with the novel. I don't expect everything to end up roses and McCarthy novels often end in a failed quest, but in this case he sure seemed to leave a pile of loose ends strung about. Anyone else get that feeling? I have a hard time seeing a movie (even one by the Coen brothers) end with a series of retrospective thoughts by a retiring sheriff. No way that translates well to film. This will be interesting to see.

Speaking of the Coen brothers, as I was reading the novel I couldn't help but see some parallels with Fargo. I saw the humble sheriff as a Marge Gunderson type.

The Sheriff character had some great lines in the novel. I think Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect actor for this role. Good casting there. Not sure about Woody Harrelson as the hit man, but maybe he can pull it off.

FarrahWaters · 07-21-2007, 10:17 PM

It looks good. There's something wrong with the link (an extra space or something), so try this one http://www.apple.com/trailers/mirama...ntryforoldmen/

How do you rank the novels "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" in regards to the Border trilogy?

Jeff Lebowski · 07-21-2007, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarrahWaters

How do you rank the novels "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" in regards to the Border trilogy?

Boy, that's a tough call. I would probably rank them like this:

1) The Road
2) All the Pretty Horses
3) No Country for Old Men & the other two sequels in the Border Trilogy (tie)

SeattleUte · 07-22-2007, 01:49 AM

Lebowski, Good review except I liked the ending. I agree with your ranking but of course Blood Meridian belongs at the top.

Jeff Lebowski · 07-22-2007, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Lebowski, Good review except I liked the ending. I agree with your ranking but of course Blood Meridian belongs at the top.

Well, I was nitpicking a bit. But do you think the ending will translate well to film?

Have you read any of McCarthy's other novels (outside of the six mentioned above)?

fusnik11 · 07-22-2007, 03:32 AM

The best part of the novel was the exchange Sugar has with the dude in the gas station. Where he asks the guy to flip a coin and choose heads or tails. Insanely good piece of writing.

I agree with SU, Blood Meridian is a must read. I am working my way through it for the third time, had plans on finishing it today but, like a moth to the flame couldn't keep my hands off of Harry Potter.

SeattleUte · 07-22-2007, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Well, I was nitpicking a bit. But do you think the ending will translate well to film?

Have you read any of McCarthy's other novels (outside of the six mentioned above)?

No. Just those. But I have the others on my shelf. They're waiting their turn. There are two, Child of God and Outer Dark, that look as dark as Blood Meridian.

SeattleUte · 07-22-2007, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Well, I was nitpicking a bit. But do you think the ending will translate well to film?

The movie will certainly have a different ending. No question. I don't have high hopes for the Coen movie. You noted McCarthy's brilliant imagery and dialogue. The problem is that the usual things that film can do what most writing cannot are redundant with McCarthy. His descripitions are as cinematic as film, and then you have all the other things that novels can do that films cannot.

Jeff Lebowski · 07-22-2007, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

The movie will certainly have a different ending. No question. I don't have high hopes for the Coen movie. You noted McCarthy's brilliant imagery and dialogue. The problem is that the usual things that film can do what most writing cannot are redundant with McCarthy. His descripitions are as cinematic as film, and then you have all the other things that novels can do that films cannot.

Well, it is rare for a movie to ever be as satisfying as a good novel, but if anyone can pull it off, it would be the Coen brothers. IMO, the dialogue and character development in their movies is outstanding.

Jeff Lebowski · 07-22-2007, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fusnik11

The best part of the novel was the exchange Sugar has with the dude in the gas station. Where he asks the guy to flip a coin and choose heads or tails. Insanely good piece of writing.

Yes. That was good. And that scene was featured in the trailer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fusnik11

I agree with SU, Blood Meridian is a must read. I am working my way through it for the third time, had plans on finishing it today but, like a moth to the flame couldn't keep my hands off of Harry Potter.

I am not sure if it is better than The Road, but I haven't read Blood Meridian in several years.

07-21-2007, 09:05 PM	#1
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	No Country for Old Men (warning: mild spoilers) I got around to reading Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men last week. While it certainly doesn't measure up to The Road, I thought it was still an excellent novel. I particularly enjoyed seeing McCarthy do a story set in the same general location as his border trilogy, yet with a more modern setting (70's). Nobody really matches McCarthy when it comes to imagery and dialogue. The Chigurh character is what makes this book. One of the more intriguing villians I have seen in quite a while. The scene near the end with Moss's wife is quite well done. Very creepy character. I wanted to make sure I read the book before the Coen brothers' movie comes out. As you can see by my moniker, I am a huge Coen brothers fan. A Coen brothers movie based on a McCarthy novel sounds like perfection to me. I can't wait to see it. Here is the trailer (Rocky posted it on CB): http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/nocountryforoldmen/trailer/ I was surprised by how many lines in the trailer are verbatim from the book. In fact, it seemed that every scene from the trailer was absolutely true to the novel. Kind of rare these days. However, I will be shocked if they stick with the same ending. That was the one complaint I had with the novel. I don't expect everything to end up roses and McCarthy novels often end in a failed quest, but in this case he sure seemed to leave a pile of loose ends strung about. Anyone else get that feeling? I have a hard time seeing a movie (even one by the Coen brothers) end with a series of retrospective thoughts by a retiring sheriff. No way that translates well to film. This will be interesting to see. Speaking of the Coen brothers, as I was reading the novel I couldn't help but see some parallels with Fargo. I saw the humble sheriff as a Marge Gunderson type. The Sheriff character had some great lines in the novel. I think Tommy Lee Jones is a perfect actor for this role. Good casting there. Not sure about Woody Harrelson as the hit man, but maybe he can pull it off. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr. Last edited by Jeff Lebowski; 07-22-2007 at 02:30 AM.

07-22-2007, 01:49 AM	#4
SeattleUte fairlds.org Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 10,665	Lebowski, Good review except I liked the ending. I agree with your ranking but of course Blood Meridian belongs at the top. __________________ Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster

07-21-2007, 10:17 PM	#2
FarrahWaters Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,122	It looks good. There's something wrong with the link (an extra space or something), so try this one http://www.apple.com/trailers/mirama...ntryforoldmen/ How do you rank the novels "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" in regards to the Border trilogy?

07-22-2007, 03:32 AM	#6
fusnik11 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,506	The best part of the novel was the exchange Sugar has with the dude in the gas station. Where he asks the guy to flip a coin and choose heads or tails. Insanely good piece of writing. I agree with SU, Blood Meridian is a must read. I am working my way through it for the third time, had plans on finishing it today but, like a moth to the flame couldn't keep my hands off of Harry Potter.