There was also a previous murder only implied. The film is smart enough to know that we don’t need a scene actually depicting him killing the farmer. When it immediately cuts to him cleaning out the feathers, we know exactly what happened.
It assumes (correctly I hope) that we know she is killed. Films like this make it obvious that their implications are also true.
Jimmy James’ assistant was presumably killed off screen, too.
My favorite subtle off-screen murder was the one with the trailer park woman. At the end of the dialogue between Chigurgh and the woman they make eye contact as the sound of the office toilet flushing reveals she’s not alone. As the scene cuts away, we hear the sound of the air tank being activated.
You’re kidding, right? That woman totally shut him down, and the sound you heard was the air brakes of the Greyhound or whatever bus that Carla Jean is boarding in the next scene. The cops swing by Moss’s trailer in the very next scene after that, and there’s no mention of a double-murder in the trailer park office, which would probably be relevant to their investigation.
Yeah, Trailer Park Beast/Manager lady definitely was not killed. IIRC in the movie version you can also hear the toilet flushing in the background indicating someone else is present right as Chigurh is getting testy. Either way, I was not left with the impression she was murdered in the movie, and it’s also said explicitly in the book.
I didn’t think he was killed. Anton says “That depends, can you see me?” (paraphrase) The correct answer is “See who?” and pretend you don’t see him. I think Chigurgh would like to think he could scare the guy into not seeing him.
He totally didn’t kill her, the scene was funny 'cause you know how badly he wants to.
Dang I think you’re right. Chalk that one up to peering a bit too intently at the tea leaves.
That line, “can you see me?”, struck me as I thought about Chigurh as the angel of death, in that he appears when it is time for someone to die and that’s how they know it is their time. He’s like the harbinger of death. When Wells finds Moss in the hospital and tells him about Chigurh, Moss says “I know. I seen him.” Carson says “You saw him? And you’re still alive?” Then at the end, I think it is implied that the only reason why Chigurh doesn’t kill Sheriff Bell is because Bell doesn’t see him-- and I think the somewhat mystical theme of Chigurh as a vision of death is implied in that it’s left mysterious how exactly Bell misses seeing Chigurh; we don’t see Chigurh leave the room, he’s just not there.
Ohhhh, nice bit of reasoning Slothrop. Especially the part about Moss and Carson’s conversation. Thanks for posting.
I remember thinking there was a very nice little bit of acting by the TPB/M lady, right after the toliet flushes. Something subtle about her facial expressions signalled her realization that something truly horrible had just been averted while still trying to maintain a calm facade.
That’s an interesting take. I always just thought she was giving him some attitude, with an incredulous look at the end because he hadn’t left yet; it never came off as fear at all to me.
Struck me as Coenish.
Why do you say that objectively he’s a sadist? I got the impression that objectively he’s a void… without emotion, acting like an automaton. (Which he turned himself into, for whatever reason.)
He never seems to enjoy what he’s doing… which would be a prerequisite of being a sadist, no?
He did smile while he was garrotting the deputy with his handcuffs. He seemed to be enjoying himself then!
Maybe he’s a masochist. His wrists were getting cut the fuck up by those cuffs.
Finally got around to watching this movie today.
First, I gotta say that this is probably the best movie related thread I’ve seen on QT3, because my appreciation for the movie went up significantly after reading it. A lot of nuances that I didn’t get were revealed to me through this discussion.
One thing sticks out on in my mind though, and that is the disconnect between what the movie is saying and whether what it’s saying actually resonates. When viewed solely in the context of “The movie’s theme is about randomness and the implacability of evil and the impotence of good in the face of evil”, it does a magnificent job. The lack of a Hollywood ending is sort of moot, that only addresses whether the movie is emotionally satisfying for some viewers.
I love the movie for how it brings to life its theme. Where I diverge, however, is whether I believe in the movie’s theme entirely. I’m not a naive optimist or anything like that, and I recognize that entropy will always end up winning over order in the long run, but I think it’s a bit overly cynical to go through life with the idea that evil will triumph and our individual efforts make no difference in the face of this. So that part of the movie simply didn’t resonate with me. It’s like an anti-romantic-comedy – I can enjoy a good romantic comedy even though I don’t think romantic-comedy themes have much relevance in the real world.
Great movie either way. I enjoyed it much more than Cloverfield which I had watched right beforehand (and which also had a pretty good QT3 thread as well).
Hope you’ll pardon the thread resurrection, but I just watched the film on cable earlier today (yeah, as with games, I generally enjoy movies way past their shelf life). Just wanted to chime in with a few bits off the top of my head:
Regarding any possible ambiguity over Chigurh’s killing of Moss’ wife, I saw him checking his boots as a visual callback after he had killed Woody Harrelson earlier. After picking up the phone and starting his conversation with Moss, you see Anton look down at the spreading pool of blood and lifting his feet to rest them on the bed next to him. Whether he’s careful to avoid leaving footprints or just likes keeping his boots clean, he’s pretty consistent in behavior.
That bit with the trailer park manager being discussed on the previous page was one of my favorite almost-throwaway bits in the film. I loved that he asked her three times in a row where Moss works, in as patient a manner as we see him display in the film. Then, as he’s walking back and we hear the flush, he throws her a half-amused, half-exasperated look that demonstrates the fate she narrowly dodged.
Anyway, really liked the film and was completely blindsided by several events. Though I never expected Moss to be able to cheat fate and live happily ever after with his millions, I did appreciate that we didn’t get the typical blazing guns kind of climax. I don’t have a problem with the film’s ending either, since it seemed apparent that the sheriff’s explanation of the dream isn’t the climax either (rather Chigurh’s accident and escape were) but the coda that explains this from the sheriff’s point of view.
Excellent catch!
-Tom
Thread necromancy…activate!
I watched the movie this morning, and I have some hazy memories from reading the book when it first came out. I think that in some ways, commenting on one is commenting on the other, since the movie follows the book so closely.
I think the point of the scene with killing Moss’s wife is to have a counterweight to Chigurh’s philosophy. By not playing the game, she forces him to take responsibility for his actions. Of course she knows she’s going to die – she says so right near the beginning of the scene. But she’s saying that ultimately the decision comes down to him; he decides to pull the trigger, to flip the coin, to walk into her house.
He was after the drugs. The water was a positive karma initiative. So I thought.
Unless there’s a joke I’m not getting here, I think your interpretation is clearly incorrect Lynch. There is no indication what-so-ever that he returned to collect drugs. It’s not like he has a network where he can move hundreds of pounds of dope. He lives in a trailer park.