No+Country+For+Old+Men

No Country For Old Men (2007) – Joel and Ethan Coen

1. Close-Up

In this scene, Llewelyn discovers the tracking device placed in the briefcase within a stack of bank notes. The close up of the tracking device, taken from Llewelyn's perspective (bird's eye view), emphasizes the importance of the object in relation to the plot of the film. Llewelyn has a moment of revelation when he finally realizes how Anton Chigurh, the film's primary antagonist, is able to track him. The blinking red light on the tracking device is also useful in building the tension into the film's climax, as Anton approaches Llewelyn's hotel room.

2. Rule Of Thirds This close-up of Llewelyn’s face employs the use of the rule of thirds. Llewelyn’s facial features are brought into prominence because of the strategic framing of this shot. His facial expression is crucial here, as it indicates his understanding that Anton is coming for him, and the fear that comes with making this realization. He is shown to be looking off-screen, towards the direction of the door, where he knows Anton will arrive soon.

3. Wide Shot

After the close up of Llewelyn’s face, the film cuts to a wide shot of him sitting on his bed, facing the door. In this frame, the audience is made aware of the positioning of the protagonist in relation to objects in the hotel room, as well as the door. It is important that the door is shown, because this is where Anton will enter the room. There is also dramatic irony in this scene because at this point in the film, the audience is familiar with Anton’s modus operandi, which involves shooting off doorknobs with his iconic choice of weapon, the captive bolt pistol. With Llewelyn’s body placed almost directly in front of the doorknob, the audience knows that the protagonist will be injured because if history has taught us anything, that doorknob will be shot off and turned into a dangerous projectile.

4. Worm’s Eye View

In this scene, the use of the worm’s eye view perspective conveys the dominance of Llewelyn in this situation. It tells the audience that despite the circumstances, Llewelyn is in control, or at least, determined to take control. As evidenced by the use of the worm’s eye view, a subtle but significant shift in mood is shown from the previous shots of this scene, as Llewelyn goes from slightly fearful to returning to a total gun-slinging badass in a matter of moments.

5. Lighting

After Llewelyn turns off the bedside lamp, the room is lit solely by the dim glow of the streetlamps outside the window. By using such dramatic lighting in such an important scene, every movement in the frame, particularly Llewelyn's finger on the trigger of his gun, is amplified and made several times more significant. In this scene, the director stresses the importance of movements made by the protagonist to emphasize the fact that every decision made by Llewelyn during this confrontation is crucial to his survival, and that any mistake, no matter how small, could potentially lead to his death.

 //Yes. I love the lighting in this scene.//

6. Eye-line matching

This shot of Anton’s feet as seen through the crack of the door is taken from Llewelyn’s eye level as he is sitting on the bed adjacent to the door. This is a cutaway shot after the audience sees Llewelyn looking at the door, indicating that this is what Llewelyn is looking at. It is also notable that Anton is often framed from the feet up along with his captive bolt pistol in several scenes, making his feet a significant identifier in the film. The shadows of his feet in this shot allow the audience to sense the proximity of the two men, thus bringing the increasing tension to its highest point in the climax.

 //Hey! we haven't discussed this yet! Did you do some research or something?//

7. (The Absence of) Lighting

Where our protagonist had once found some sense of security in knowing the location of his enemy by looking at the shadows of his feet, he has now lost his advantage in the darkness. Now Llewelyn is fair game, as neither man can be sure of the other’s precise location. Meanwhile, the Coen brothers have achieved cinematic greatness by plunging the cinema into darkness. By looking at nothing, the audience is told everything that they need to know- that all hell is about to break loose. I lied in #6 when I said that the increasing tension was brought to its highest point. THIS is where your heart starts hammering in your chest, your palms start sweating like a marathon runner in sub-Saharan Africa wearing black spandex, and you stop reaching for your bag of chips, because Anton has turned off the lights.

//Ha! Well said!// 

8. Establishing Shot

This wide shot is effective in establishing the location of the protagonist. The change from close-ups and medium shots to this wide-shot, combined with the change in location from inside the hotel to on the street, is tension relieving despite the fact that Llewelyn is still being pursued. The absence of human activity in the street, however, concerns the viewer because it means that the protagonist is alone and has to depend on himself.