No Country for Old Men

The next film we watched is 'No Country for Old Men' which is an American crime thriller film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. 'No Country for Old Men' tells the story of an ordinary man to whom by chance delivers a fortune that is not his, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. The film examines the themes of fate and involves a lot of fast paced action and violence. 


The opening of this film is very effective because within the first 5 minutes of the film, there is fast paced action, and two murders by the antagonist. This leaves the audience wanting to watch on because we know its going to be very entertaining and we want to know why these murders are happening. It can be broken down into the form of CLAMP:


Costume - The villain is dressed in all black which we automatically associate him as being a dark, evil character


Light - At the beginning we do not see the villains face as it is covered by shadows. Therefore his facial expressions are not shown and nothing is given away about him


Actors - The film has recognisable actors which also makes us want to watch on because its obviously going to be a good film. However in the opening, we only see the villain. 

Props - In the opening, the villain uses a oxygen tank to kill one of his unfortunate victims. This is significant to the rest of the film and the villains personality

Settings - The setting is a deserted landscape in the western lands. This gives us the sense of loneliness, and when the victims are caught by the villain, we know no one will be around to help.