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Analysis Of No Country For Old Men

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But that aside, McCarthy's No Country for Old Men is a rigid, gripping thriller, one that pressures its drama by regulating it, giving events in an upfront, discreet, arranged way that builds up way more impact than, say, Dan Brown's exaggerated attempts to build tension by screeching at the reader that it's time to be enthusiastic. The Coen brothers' screen version can't help but be more dynamic than McCarthy's novel; even though they maintain the book's cool tone by having the characters rarely raise their voices or even play with outward emotion, just the intensity of their stares gives the story an immediate urgency beyond the book's. Instead, the book is sort of heavy, as though every event follows callously from the one before.
The Coen's, by contrast, have a distinctive but more malleable style; they tend toward heightened narrative whether they're doing noir or comedy, but their tendency to play explore styles and genres makes it harder to recognize their authorial stamp, except that the vast majority of their movies are terrific. No Country for Old Men is no exception. It's a bracing thriller, a game going back and forth involving a lot of extra actors running around complicating the story and throwing out stylized, entertaining, and frequently strange performances. It's also almost terribly funny. The characters stay straight-faced and rarely bat an eye no matter what they run up against; they express tension, misery, anger and frustration alike by just getting a
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