Great Scenes in Cinema #3-NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN-Call It

no country for old men

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a flawless film. Perfect in its writing, direction, and acting. In fact it is on my short list of the greatest films of all time. How does one go about choosing the best scene from a film full of best scenes? Very carefully. I chose this scene because the writing it’s simply superb. Its psychological warfare delivered by the films personification of evil, Anton Chigurh. He fully intends on killing the poor gas clerk based on the toss of a coin. The clerk knows this. Chigurh knows the clerk knows this. The clerk knows that Chigurh knows the he knows this. Chigurh knows the clerk knows that Chigurh knows. Chigurh is like a wild animal stalking his prey except his prey is standing right in front of him. Every word the clerk says is wrong and he knows he is being pulled into Chigurh’s web. Since we have already seen Chigurh kill without any thought we know that he can do it again if it suits his needs. Chigurh’s bored indifference and calm demeanor makes the scene all the more suspense full. The look Chigurh gives at the end is icing on the cake. Scenes do not get much better than this. Javier Bardem who plays Chigurh won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Based on this scene it is easy to see why.

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