No Country for Old Men - Essay Example

When he is having a conversation with anyone, the camera follows the other character mostly when he/she says something of value or to show what is the effect of Chigurh’s personality or speech on him/her. The character of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell also has a lot of strength. In my opinion, his character is second to Chigurh. His appearance is anticipated at any time because the movie opens up with him narrating in background voice. His first appearance is not shot from a lower angle or an angle that shows his importance.

He is shot from a very common angle and his importance can be construed by his wife telling him to “be careful”. His answers to his wife show that he is an experienced Sheriff and has been in such situations a lot of times before. He can easily be shown as being tired of his job and feeling that he is not good enough for the police work anymore. The feeling of helplessness and knowing that he has a very limited capacity to do things has made him quite cynical. The camera rarely leaves his face whether he is in a conversation or not.

The camera has to be kept on him in such a way that his facial expressions and feelings are recorded properly. In a scene where his subordinate laughs at his remark, the camera still focuses on him a lot to show that he is not amused. The character of Llewelyn Moss can be regarded as the second most important character. If not, this character is very much poised with the character of the Sheriff. Although he runs away with the money that did not belong to him, he still manages to get the sympathy of the audience.

Llewelyn told his wife that he “will return”. This makes the audience expect that he might survive at the end of the movie. But he is killed in the most common manner as any character in the movie does. It is surprising that some of the minor details of his activities are followed by the camera, but his killing is not shown, hence nil dramatizations in his death. Unlike, Chigurh, Llwelyn depicts a lot of feelings ranging from pain to the worry of his wife’s safety. He is also a compassionate person as despite knowing about the danger to his life, he takes water to the dying Mexican gangster/driver, albeit, he was too late.

Prior to that, the camera focuses on him from the ceiling as he lies on the bed and records the feelings of restlessness that the thought of the thirsty Mexican brings to him. He is careful and as circumspect as his wits allow him to be but he makes some critical mistakes that lead to his death. The movie uses very less music and even the most intense moments are free from dramatic melody in order to depict reality. This has shown realism in the movie. “Critics and theorists have championed film as the most realistic of all the arts in capturing how an experience actually looks and sounds” (Giannetti and Leach, Page 3) The time when Chigurh asks the shopkeeper at the gas station to call the coin, it is obvious that he is wagering on killing him.

This is a critical moment but no music is used. The sounds used are natural and real. In this movie, the rarity of music enables the audience to expect the un-expectable at any moment. In the beginning, when Lelwelyn walks to the scene of the crime and away from it, the contact of his feet with the ground can be heard very clearly. Also, the time when he is in the motel, the sound of the creak of the wooden floor due to