Joel and Ethan Coen have directed countless films with simple, but rich characters and themes. The pair is consistent in their decision-making of how to give the audience information about their characters and the world they inhabit. Eventually, especially in their later films, we follow a narrative where we’re left to make our own conclusions. Master’s at their craft, the Coen Brothers have a quality that is finely tuned to their work: they never underestimate the audience.
The best example of this work comes from their Best Picture-winning “No Country For Old Men.” In a video essay from Lessons From The Screenplay, fans of the directing duo get a complete breakdown of just how this estimation plays out. Watching “No Country For Old Men” is an active experience. Audiences are left to fill in the blanks, make assumptions, and surmise poignant information out of subtle cues. As the video essay explains, this isn’t movie-watching on easy mode.
While the structure of the film is relatively transparent, it is what happens within those acts that create tension in the mind of the audience. But there is a respect the Coen’s seem to have for these viewers, allowing them to imagine sequences within the confines of the information that is available to them. Focusing on this notion of estimation of the audience, the essay discusses the 2+2 method; giving information but not the sum of the parts. The method is risky, but the Joel and Ethan Coen handle the method with diligence. There really is no stone left unturned with the film because so much of it is left to the audience to interpret.
Based on Cormac McCarthy‘s stirring novel, “No Country For Old Men” is a simple film, primed for critical engagement. Subtle and introspective, it is a masterclass in editing and theme. Even better, it is a film that engages with the audience, asking us to imagine and calculate our response.