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On Tuesday, May 13, Tryon Theatre will have a special one-night screening of the acclaimed Coen Brothers thriller “No Country for Old Men” (2007), presented by The Tryon Fine Arts Center. This film is the last of five films in the inaugural film series TFAC hosted at The Tryon Theatre. Thus far, for their film series, TFAC has opted for established and celebrated titles, films which the critics have all resoundingly and enthusiastically endorsed. “No Country for Old Men” is perhaps the most salient example of these heralded films, being nominated for eight Academy Awards in 2008 and winning the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. Javier Bardem was the recipient of the Supporting Actor Award, with his portrayal of the film’s antagonist becoming one of the most iconic villains to ever darken the silver screen. Bardem proved himself a capable and compelling lead for American audiences, with his career skyrocketing in the aftermath of the film’s rave reception. 

“No Country for Old Men” is an adaptation of the identically titled novel written by author Cormac McCarthy, a talent unrivaled in his capacity to depict the haunting emptiness of the remote American West, the vast landscapes inseparably influential from the hardened people who occupy them. “No Country for Old Men” is set deep in southern Texas, mere miles from the Mexican border, where the customs and languages of the two countries are melded in an informal cultural amalgam. It is in this liminal boundary of worlds that this film occupies its setting, with every character contrasted against a backdrop of desperation, poverty, and brutality. 

This film, much like the novel upon which it is based, possesses a tight and contained narrative, lean and efficient in its storytelling. And while such qualities are deserving of praise, it leaves very little of the film to preface, without delving too deeply into the actual procession of the plot. The film’s protagonist, Llewelyn, played by the wonderfully gruff Josh Brolin, is a veteran and a welder by trade, eking out a meager existence in the sparse decay of 1980s West Texas. In a turn of fortune, equal parts good and bad, Llewelyn stumbles upon a suitcase of money, obviously illicit in origins but too tempting to ignore. In an act of desperation and foolhardiness, Llewelyn decides to take the money, opening a criminal Pandora’s box of scope and violence that sets an inhumanly vigilant killer on his trail. The tension and fascination generated from this terse game of cat and mouse provides for one of the most gripping and compelling thrillers of film history, each scene constructed as taught as a drum, every moment pulsing with nervous potential. 

“No Country for Old Men” is an intense watch, more emotionally than visually, but both forms are present in spades. The reason for this film’s acclaim is self-evident to any viewer willing to saddle themselves with the weight of the story, a difficult but deeply rewarding undertaking. We hope you will join us all soon for a truly phenomenal film in “No Country for Old Men”! 

On an important note of scheduling, while this film is the last in the series, there will be a new series of monthly films selected by TFAC to be announced soon, along with their scheduled showtimes. There will not be a TFAC film series for the month of June.