book discussion

Somewhat of a spoiler so be forewarned.

In the movie there's a scene where Tommy Lee Jones is about to enter the motel room.

I took this scene as if he was almost looking for his own death. He knows Chigure (sp?) is inside. Without giving to much away this is what I got from this part. His (Jones) relatives that were cops all went out in this blaze of glory. With his realization of the way things had changed along with being on the verge of retirement made him almost suicidal. Like the opposite of the "death by cop" theory. So he goes in hoping for this last great battle. Meanwhile Chigure, as insane as he seems only appears to kill for purpose. So even though he's inside the room he gains nothing from killing Jones so he remains hidden, and appears almost affraid.

Anyway, if the book explains it all and is worth the read following seeing the movie I will fit it in. If not I will go to another book by this author. Regardless, I loved the movie and thought the ending was exceptional.

the ending of the book is superior in a few ways to the movie.

the scene in question has a slightly different nature in the book. i dont bother much trying to deduce metaphors but in the book, he realizes chigurh is in the room and he calls and waits for back-up. by the time back-up arrives, chigurh is already gone with the money.

in the movie, the scene is sort-of weird. we're not sure if Chigurh is in the room at the same time as Bell-- it looks like it was Bell's imagination and Chigurh was there a few hours before to retrieve the money.

the book is worth reading. it's a quick read and it is in many ways superior to the movie, coming from someone who thinks the movie is one of the best movies of the year.

BIG TIME MOVIE SPOILERS!!!

I loved this movie. Here's my take: I thought Chigurh was hiding in the room. He had just gotten the money (from the opened vent), but hadn't gotten out yet. Enter Tommy Lee Jones. I do think this is meant to be an Old West type showdown scene...as evidenced by TLJ's shadow on the wall appearing very Old West-ish. But, for whatever reason, Chigurh chooses not to show himself. Maybe he just wants to make sure he gets the money, and is not interested in a fight. He gets the money, and TLJ lives. Josh Brolin's character and his wife both die.

At first, I thought TLJ actually backed down from the fight, which caused him to feel like he needed to retire. But, in retrospect, I don't think he realized Chigurh was there.

The Movie is Better Than The Book

I don't normally ever say this, but it's true! The Coen Bros did such a great job in taking a so-so book and realizing it into a captivating movie.

Don't bother reading the book, though the one thing it does better than the movie is make the sherrif's motives for even telling the story more believable, in his not wanting to take something as horrific as this to the grave. And it makes Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) more of an impulsive, stupid, young trailer park dude.

I have to admit though, that Javier Bardem plays Chigurh the way I'd imagined the character to be.

I thought the book was great! I just finished it today, and it is pretty much identical to the movie until the very end. It goes into a little more depth and explains the sheriff's character better. The book seems a little more haunting than the movie, and Chigurh is down right creepy. I think the movie and book are almost equal. (Oh, and there is no animal violence in the book, the drug dogs are not shot in the book.) If you've read Cormac McCarthy before, go for it. If you haven't, it might help you understand his style a little better before you tackle another one of his books.

THE MOVIE IS NOT BETTER THAN THE BOOK.

At least in terms of the themes, the book is a lot more powerful, and the characters aren't so one-sided.

I don't think the movie was bad, but the book just delves deeper into the ultimate point, whereas the movie, I think, leaves some things unanswered.

NO! I was actually hoping that the movie did a better job of developing the plot, characters etc... than the book did.

I'm pretty sure in the movie he got out before tlj came in the room. They show him waiting when tlj sees the lock, and then there's a pause. TLJ gets himself together, comes in anyway, (which the way it was shot seemed to me more the definition of courage than suicidal) and then when he gets in Chigurgh has gone out the window, and that's why tlj breathes that sigh of relief when he checks the window and sees it unlocked. Seemed to me that he bounced and pulled the window closed behind him.

I love the movie -- watched the DVD three times so far. I read the book hoping for more background and I did get some, especially about Anton's motivations.

I have another question related to the book. Toward the end, there's some stuff with a Mexican in a Barracuda (cleaning blood off a window at a car wash)), and a dead state trooper. The Mexican is convicted of killing the trooper. We don't see the killing. Ed Tom thinks the Mexican is innocent of this killing but when he visits him in jail, the Mexican laughs at him and says yeah, he killed the trooper.

Was this in any way related to the rest of the story? Was this Mexican involved in the shootout at the motel and was the trooper chasing him? Or was this just another example of the sorry state of the world, and another reason for Ed Tom to give up and retire?