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I thought the same thing at first, but I think that's the whole point. I find myself liking this movie more and more as the days pass since I saw it, especially the ending. I mean, we're all just waiting to die and can't escape that fact. I feel like the movie captured that feeling of regret, helplessness and unfulfillment that must come as you get closer to death.
Read the whole thread. There are some good ideas brought up.
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("Actually, I just thought of another scene to support the idea that Chiguhr can't kill without reason. When he is driving across the bridge, he randomly decides to shoot the bird on the railing. He misses and hits the bridge. He never misses.mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("My read on the coin flip was that Chigurh needs a reason to kill, no matter how small it is. He doesn't kill anyone in the movie for absolutely no reason.saw it yesterday. Was hoping someone could explain the main theme?
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("
What was with the whole idea of randomness? The flipping of a coin, killer gets in a car crash, etc.
Also I didn't catch the significance at the end of Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dreams with his father *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();
As far as the car crash, I didn't get what was up with that. Seemed very tacked on and unnecessary.
I actually loved the last scene with TLJ. In the dream, he said his dad was going down to the valley to make a fire and he knew he was soon going to join him. I thought it was showing that TLJ knew Chigurh would come for him soon and that he would soon "join his dad" in death.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
Furthermore, I think it all depends on what you want out of a film. Sure, I like to be entertained and inspired by a good movie. But if a movie asks difficult questions and leaves me feeling shocked or depressed, I think those emotions are valid and important.
Some times you have to do a little work for a big payoff.
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("I'm thinking he had just gotten it. He tried to get it from the room which the sheriff entered initially (evidenced by the open duct, dime etc.), couldn't, got a map of the hotel, went to the other room and removed it from there just as the sheriff arrived to search the first one.
I say this as a huge fan of the Coen brothers. A spoiler-free attempt to answer that question:Much of the film seems to build to an inevitable event, and that event does not transpire. And while the film is largely an action thriller, the end is largely existential. That is kind of a shocking shift in the film. So while I love the movie, I can see why the non-traditional, non-Hollywood ending would not be satisfying to some people.
I think thats a liiittle condescending, isn't it?
Really? I didn't intend that at all. I didn't say that people who don't like the ending are dumb. I said that I can see why they wouldn't like the ending.
No big deal. It just kinda sounded like you we implying that those who didn't like it, didn't "get it". Something can be non-traditional or non-Hollywood and still be legitimately questionable. In the end though, I like the movie a lot.
I never resort to that. I think it'd be quite easy to "get" the ending without liking it. Hell, much as I like the film, I would have loved a more satisfying ending.
Well there you go.
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("Actually, I just thought of another scene to support the idea that Chiguhr can't kill without reason. When he is driving across the bridge, he randomly decides to shoot the bird on the railing. He misses and hits the bridge. He never misses.mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("My read on the coin flip was that Chigurh needs a reason to kill, no matter how small it is. He doesn't kill anyone in the movie for absolutely no reason.saw it yesterday. Was hoping someone could explain the main theme?
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("
What was with the whole idea of randomness? The flipping of a coin, killer gets in a car crash, etc.
Also I didn't catch the significance at the end of Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dreams with his father *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();
As far as the car crash, I didn't get what was up with that. Seemed very tacked on and unnecessary.
I actually loved the last scene with TLJ. In the dream, he said his dad was going down to the valley to make a fire and he knew he was soon going to join him. I thought it was showing that TLJ knew Chigurh would come for him soon and that he would soon "join his dad" in death.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
Also, the scene in the gas station may have not meant anything. He had no reason to kill the attendant, coin flip or no coin flip. We know he is a killer, but the attendant does not. Chiguhr never threatens to kill him. That is simply a conclusion we are lead to. The only wager is that the attendant 'would win everything'. Had the coin come up tails, would he have killed him? On the flipside (pun intended), even though he offers a coin flip to the wife, she was dead anyway, because he had promised to do her in anyway, and he sticks to his principles. In my opinion, his decisions were not based on randomness.*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write(""Doesn't he tell the gas station attendant that he had everything to gain? By flipping the coin, the gas station attendant can believe that he has won, when perhaps there was nothing ever there to win."bialczabub said:mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("Actually, I just thought of another scene to support the idea that Chiguhr can't kill without reason. When he is driving across the bridge, he randomly decides to shoot the bird on the railing. He misses and hits the bridge. He never misses.mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("My read on the coin flip was that Chigurh needs a reason to kill, no matter how small it is. He doesn't kill anyone in the movie for absolutely no reason.saw it yesterday. Was hoping someone could explain the main theme?
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("
What was with the whole idea of randomness? The flipping of a coin, killer gets in a car crash, etc.
Also I didn't catch the significance at the end of Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dreams with his father *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();
As far as the car crash, I didn't get what was up with that. Seemed very tacked on and unnecessary.
I actually loved the last scene with TLJ. In the dream, he said his dad was going down to the valley to make a fire and he knew he was soon going to join him. I thought it was showing that TLJ knew Chigurh would come for him soon and that he would soon "join his dad" in death.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
Also, the scene in the gas station may have not meant anything. He had no reason to kill the attendant, coin flip or no coin flip. We know he is a killer, but the attendant does not. Chiguhr never threatens to kill him. That is simply a conclusion we are lead to. The only wager is that the attendant 'would win everything'. Had the coin come up tails, would he have killed him? On the flipside (pun intended), even though he offers a coin flip to the wife, she was dead anyway, because he had promised to do her in anyway, and he sticks to his principles. In my opinion, his decisions were not based on randomness.*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
I'm saying if you've gotten this far in the thread and haven't seen the movie yet, you deserve to have stuff ruined.Edit: Updated.You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
Really?You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
Yes, really. I don't think he gets any satisfaction out of it, but I don't think it bothers him either. He's kind of a sociopath, who doesn't have a normal persons' sense of right and wrong. What he does have is his personal code, that lays out rules for killing. Now, those are obviously very loose rules, but he never kills anyone who he really doesn't have a reason to. He might have come close with the gas station attendant, but he gave him a choice, and we don't know what would have happened.Really?You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("He's not visibly upset when he loses.*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. *******Spoilers Possibly Below!!!****
****Proceed at your own risk****
For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
I too am frustrated when there is a lack of
You have to be aware of the piece as a whole, the film IS TL Jones story, he opens the film with the narration and it simply doubles back.
That's what I took from it.mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write(""Doesn't he tell the gas station attendant that he had everything to gain? By flipping the coin, the gas station attendant can believe that he has won, when perhaps there was nothing ever there to win."bialczabub said:mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("Actually, I just thought of another scene to support the idea that Chiguhr can't kill without reason. When he is driving across the bridge, he randomly decides to shoot the bird on the railing. He misses and hits the bridge. He never misses.mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("My read on the coin flip was that Chigurh needs a reason to kill, no matter how small it is. He doesn't kill anyone in the movie for absolutely no reason.saw it yesterday. Was hoping someone could explain the main theme?
mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("
What was with the whole idea of randomness? The flipping of a coin, killer gets in a car crash, etc.
Also I didn't catch the significance at the end of Tommy Lee Jones talking about his dreams with his father *** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();
As far as the car crash, I didn't get what was up with that. Seemed very tacked on and unnecessary.
I actually loved the last scene with TLJ. In the dream, he said his dad was going down to the valley to make a fire and he knew he was soon going to join him. I thought it was showing that TLJ knew Chigurh would come for him soon and that he would soon "join his dad" in death.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
Also, the scene in the gas station may have not meant anything. He had no reason to kill the attendant, coin flip or no coin flip. We know he is a killer, but the attendant does not. Chiguhr never threatens to kill him. That is simply a conclusion we are lead to. The only wager is that the attendant 'would win everything'. Had the coin come up tails, would he have killed him? On the flipside (pun intended), even though he offers a coin flip to the wife, she was dead anyway, because he had promised to do her in anyway, and he sticks to his principles. In my opinion, his decisions were not based on randomness.*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
Chiguhr was absolutely going to kill the attendant if he lost the coin toss. And the attendant had *everything* to win: his life.
*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***
");document.close();
And in the gas station attendant's case, Chigur almost wants to perform an act of mercy. The attendant is so pathetic, Chigur wants to slaughter him like a wounded horse.****Spoilers Possibly Below!!!****
****Proceed at your own risk****
For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
Check out the look on Chigur's face when he strangles that cop. Hard to argue that he didn't get pleasure out of that.Yes, really. I don't think he gets any satisfaction out of it, but I don't think it bothers him either. He's kind of a sociopath, who doesn't have a normal persons' sense of right and wrong. What he does have is his personal code, that lays out rules for killing. Now, those are obviously very loose rules, but he never kills anyone who he really doesn't have a reason to. He might have come close with the gas station attendant, but he gave him a choice, and we don't know what would have happened.Really?You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
Happy to be getting away.Check out the look on Chigur's face when he strangles that cop. Hard to argue that he didn't get pleasure out of that.Yes, really. I don't think he gets any satisfaction out of it, but I don't think it bothers him either. He's kind of a sociopath, who doesn't have a normal persons' sense of right and wrong. What he does have is his personal code, that lays out rules for killing. Now, those are obviously very loose rules, but he never kills anyone who he really doesn't have a reason to. He might have come close with the gas station attendant, but he gave him a choice, and we don't know what would have happened.Really?You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
I'm going with Homer here in that if you've read this far you don't care about spoilers. Saw it today.Read the book and really liked it.Coens just copied the book, nearly verbatim. Did not add any of their own spin. I found the movie rather meh...disappointed. Checked the time once and struggled to stay awake.Rambo trailer looked pretty good though.
He looked like a music lover listening to Bach while killing that guy. Pure elation. I don't think that was just the joy of new-found freedom.Happy to be getting away.Check out the look on Chigur's face when he strangles that cop. Hard to argue that he didn't get pleasure out of that.Yes, really. I don't think he gets any satisfaction out of it, but I don't think it bothers him either. He's kind of a sociopath, who doesn't have a normal persons' sense of right and wrong. What he does have is his personal code, that lays out rules for killing. Now, those are obviously very loose rules, but he never kills anyone who he really doesn't have a reason to. He might have come close with the gas station attendant, but he gave him a choice, and we don't know what would have happened.Really?You might want to put some of that in a spoiler tag, for people who haven't seen it yet. And I disagree with you on the pleasure part.I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
What's the book view? I haven't read it, so anything I took from the movie might be wrong, I'll admit.
*Spoiler*My impression, after just seeing the movie today, was that Chigur feels like he's a role player, and that he really has no choice in the killings he does. If someone sees him, they die. If they get in his way, they die. If there is some bargain struck, some deal made, he will follow through without thought.****Spoilers Possibly Below!!!****
****Proceed at your own risk****
For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
The more and more I think about it, I like it even more, the dialogue between the characters are so great. Each character was important to the movie and makes the best out of it. To be honest, now that I've discussed the movie with my friend, we couldn't come up with a different ending.
nice take on it.
If I told you "what the book says"...it wouldn't (or at least, it shouldn't) change your view of anything. That was the point of my post. It's not "wrong". At all. It's very rare that you can go to a movie that is based so heavily on a book and come away with differing views that are justifiable and meaningful. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is another book/movie that I feel has this quality. The book is much darker and more damning. The movie makes the drug use look like a circus of funny and crazy anecdotes. Both are legit ways to take the meaning of the story.
Agreed. That's what the ending was about. TLJ was dealing with retiring and waiting for death. The story about his dream was just a fantastic way to end this.Amazing dialogue and acting. Loved this movie.
*Spoiler*This is what I got out of the book (haven't seen the movie yet). The coin flip was not of consequence because that persons fate was already decided. It's almost as if he knew the wife was going to die and that he knew the coin flip would dictate this.*Spoiler*My impression, after just seeing the movie today, was that Chigur feels like he's a role player, and that he really has no choice in the killings he does. If someone sees him, they die. If they get in his way, they die. If there is some bargain struck, some deal made, he will follow through without thought.****Spoilers Possibly Below!!!****
****Proceed at your own risk****
For those that are saying Chigur doesn't kill without a reason and that the coin flips don't mean anything, I totally disagree. I think if it came up tails, that gas station attendant wouldn't have seen the sunset. And I think if the wife had made a call and it came up her way, she would have lived.
I don't think he's looking for a reason to kill...he wants to kill. It gives him pleasure. But I think the coin toss thing makes it more interesting for him...kind of like a gambling thing, where he's not only going to get off if he wins, but he's getting off on the game itself (which is how us true gamblers feel about it).
He's not looking for a reason not to kill. He's digging the game. And he wants to kill...he lost at the gas station.
That's what made the exchange with the wife interesting, where she told him that it was HIS choice to kill her or not, it wasn't up to fate. She refused to call heads or tails as though she were defying the idea that it was up in the air. It was his choice, and his alone.
