I know a couple of people who went to New Mexico in 2006 to work on this. It was based on a very popular novel by Cormac McCarthy, those who read it thought the Coens were a great choice to adapt it, and from what I was hearing the shoot was going smooth and everyone was excited by the footage. The film played Cannes to a rave reception before it opened, so I wouldn’t say I went into this with a lot of hype, but a rare confidence that it wasn’t going to disappoint.
The film is near perfect for so long. I’ve watched the film repeatedly, but I still don’t like when the narrative takes a left turn towards the end, going from a cat and mouse chase picture to a mythic meditation on the nature of evil. I get what the story is doing, and I really like what it has to say, but it’s done at the expense of the more rousing conclusion you think we’re headed for. And I get that’s the point. Until then, this is an unrelentingly intense thriller, filled with wonderful Coen touches, like the scuff marks of the struggling police officer, the sound of the peanut wrapper slowly uncrumpling or the keys in the truck, many great hotel confrontations and a damn persistent dog.
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