Two Bad Haircuts, One Good Film; Does The Successes Of A Film Live And Die With Its Director?

I think I certainly have my work cut out for me this week. There is so much to unpack in these two films that I’m not sure where to start. The first time I watched No Country For Old Men (NCFOM), I was left quite literally with my mouth open in awe. I had heard it received a mixed response from audiences and could not fathom how anybody couldn’t love this film. When I watched The Counselor, I had a similar physical response, but this was of greater magnitude since I was wondering what the hell just happened. I have thought about NCFOM many times since my first viewing. I have seldom thought about The Counselor - that is, of course, until now.

Well, the first thing to address here is what connection I have made between these two films. As we know, NCFOM is written and directed by the Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan. Their screenplay adaptation comes from the novel by Cormac McCarthy. The Counselor is directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy. So, what got me thinking about this post was: how can two films inspired by stories written by the same man be so different? One is considered to be a modern masterpiece and the other left many confused. Is it all down to the director?

So what went so wrong here? Both films are filled with many moral and philosophical questions, which appear to be a trait of McCarthy’s writing. The themes centre around choice, fate, our moral compass, so it seems like an interesting topic for an audience. Both casts consist of many talented actors who have already proven that they can be powerful performers. I have tried very hard to understand and like The Counselor. I don’t think I have found a conclusive answer to my questions, but I believe some have to come down to directorial style and differences in storytelling.

I have long been fascinated by the Coens and, in particular, NCFOM. I always find films that don’t give the viewers what they want very interesting. Viewers tend to have a favourite character. They want to know what happens to that character. They want them to succeed and when a filmmaker withholds that from a viewer, I find that so interesting. The Coens are known for their dark sense of humour which is integrated with themes of self, choice, morality, and many other philosophical questions. Perhaps this humour allows viewers to cope with such intense questions about life and the world without them becoming bogged down. Maybe what is missing from The Counselor is simply a sense of humour?

NCFOM has many moral and philosophical dilemmas. Such dilemmas are present in the narrative and are worked through both in dialogue and monologues as well as throughout the narrative itself. Not only is this done with great wit and irony, but, most importantly, it is relevant to each character. When the character of Tom Bell visits an old relative to check up on him, not only is this relevant to the plot, but the discussions the two men have go from chit chat to much larger and complex issues. Why? Because that was what was on Tom’s mind as he went on the visit; it makes sense to his character. This is typical of this film and the Coens' other work. Large questions about the universe and the self effortlessly fall into casual conversation. We see the characters trying to work through their issues in their everyday life. This ease allows the viewer to sit back and allow the film to reveal itself to them.

As mentioned, much of The Coens' work is centred around life, but, moreover, what life is led by? (I mean, isn't that the entire plot of A Serious Man) Is it all a coincidence? Is it our choice? Is it fate? God? Importantly, the Coens do not always provide us with answers and, instead, leave us to wrestle with such questions that people are still trying to answer today. Many of the same moral and philosophical questions are asked in The Counselor, but they are sloppily answered and I think several factors lead to this.

Firstly, there is a problem with many of the characters (besides the fact that they are annoying). They are half thought out, often lacking in personality. So, it becomes difficult to understand their motivations. If we can’t understand why they are doing what they are doing, how can we believe in them? The film then starts to become unbelievable and a little ridiculous.

So many of the same questions are present, but, unlike NCFOM, they are not gradually explored through narrative, which would be difficult to do as the characters don’t seem to know their own narratives. It feels as though The Counselor is not only inspired by the themes previously mentioned, but also nearly relies on such themes to form the narrative, but, of course, that can’t be the film's plot. Otherwise, it becomes a group of actors talking about philosophy. Such ideas must be carried through a medium. There must be a larger story at play. Otherwise, meaning is lost.

Everything about The Counselor feels overloaded and tiring. Perhaps what’s key to NCFOM is its ambiguity and its unwillingness to spoonfeed an audience. The Counselor nearly hits you over the head with its "deep" themes. Both films appear to have intended to have an ambitious ending; an ending a viewer isn’t used to and one that certainly does not answer all of their questions as, like in life, little is cut and dried. Often things don’t go the way we planned or hoped and things happen that make little to no sense. Unsurprisingly, NCFOM achieves this quite successfully and has what I believe to be one of the most emotive endings in recent cinema. However, at this point, unsurprisingly, The Counselor does explain itself to us; the ‘villain’ is revealed and so are the fates of the characters we have been following. To me, that seems to miss the philosophical point.

I am not sure that I have fully uncovered why films that stem from such similar stories, written essentially by the same person produce such vastly different films with different effects. I believe it is differences in directorial styles and different narrative approaches. At least Javier Bardem's terrible haircut was worth it for NCFOM.