In “No Country for Old Men,” Tommy Lee Jones, who plays an “old” lawman, early on tells a story about a hardened cold-blooded killer he helped capture and execute. The telling of that story goes to the heart of the challenge in this movie.
Movie Doc’s diagnosis?
If you struggle to accept the worst of the “old days”, how do you wrap your brain around things that are much worse than you ever imagined? Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin round out a brilliant cast and the script tells us as much as we need to know to understand how both the good guys and the bad guys tick. The contrasts and especially the similarities of the main characters make this film entertaining while providing an appreciation of the sometimes all too real pain of realizing that there are no absolutes.
And even when everyone has values and plays by rules, the game is always deadly serious when everyone has different values and plays by different rules.
Remedy
Sheriff Ed Tom, know when to say when!
Llewellyn, you should have been cruel to the thirsty guy to be kind to yourself. Don’t let your conscience be your guide. If you know something is stupid, just say no and don’t do it!
