"No Country For Old Men"

The past couple of weeks I have been watching all of the past, Best Picture Oscar winners I had never gotten the chance to see. This week I watched No Country for Old Men. Set in Texas, this dark and violent film focuses on three men, interweaving their stories intricately together.

Javier Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a psychopathic Mexican killer in pursuit of Llewelyn Moss, played by Josh Brolin. Though Anton's upper lip is void of a mustache, I would argue that his character is more or less a watered down version of the classic Latino stereotype, the greaser. Throughout the movie Anton murders no less then five people in a brutal inhumane way. This in itself, is reinforcing the myth that Hispanics and Latinos are violent in nature. Unfortunately the directors gave no back story as to why he had become this way which would have been helpful in piecing together his violent character. The film did little to individualize Anton's character and instead grouped him into the classic stereotype many of us thought to be gone.

Llewlyn Moss, portrayed by Josh Brolin, is a hunter who just happens to stumble upon a stash of two million dollars. Though Josh is not of Hispanic descent, the makeup used and his character's accent imply that he has a Mexican heritage. Llewlyn is a much less violent character then the average greaser stereotype shown in films but I would say his role still reinforces violence and greed as being common among Latinos and Hispanics. Unlike Anton, Llewlyn is much more individualized and is given a little bit of back story. Perhaps this is because a white man, (Josh Brolin), is portraying a Hispanic, much like the early filmmakers did using the technique called "blackface", to portray African Americans. One thing to note though, is that Llewlyn is actually the one who ends up dying in the film, while Anton roams free. An interesting twist that doesn't line up to the classical way a movie should end where the, "other" character, dies.

The last of the three men involved is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Sheriff Ed is the "white" man of the group. His role in the movie seems very insignificant and his screen time is very low, compared to the other two protagonists yet his story seems to be the most important of the three. We as the audience are told why he became a sheriff, and are given a significant account of his life story to identify with the "good" guy. It seems Hollywood still hasn't realized that movie audiences are of mixed race and ethnicity.

One last thing to note is the fact that Javier Bardem won Best Supporting Actor in the 2007 Oscars for his role as Anton. He is the first Spanish actor to ever win an Oscar, which is a huge accomplishment. But I wonder if he would have won had he played, say, the sheriff character? If he had not portrayed a stereotypical role would the judges of the Oscars look at him differently? Just something to think about.

Sources: Picture taken from Google Images