Vanity

What you got ain't nothing new. This country's hard on people. Can't stop what's coming. Ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity. 

- Cousin Ellis to Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, No Country For Old Men 

When I saw No Country For Old Men during its 2006 theatrical run, I came away believing it was a great film but one I never wanted to see again.  Over the years I've come to change my mind and even read the Cormac McCarthy novel on which it is based.  Maybe it's because I'm now an old man.

I've written about the novel and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell's musing on the times in "What Is To Come" and "Carryin' Fire",  the terrifying and tense coin flip scene, "Friendo", and Anton Chigurh's probing inquiry about the use of following rules in Au Contraire.  In the scene below, Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) goes to see his Cousin Ellis (Barry Corbin), also a lawman and one crippled by a criminal, at his isolated mobile home in West Texas.

Sheriff Bell is struggling with the evil he sees growing around him, feeling unable to contain it, and has decided to retire.  He's come to his cousin seeking answers though he is not sure what the questions are. The sheriff feels overwhelmed and overmatched by what he is witnessing in the world.  Bell expresses his disappointment with God while acknowledging God's disappointment with him, causing Ellis to wave his hand dismissively, saying "you don't know what he thinks".

Everything about this scene is superb and reinforces the nature of the conversation.  The casting and cinematography are outstanding and Jones and Corbin convey so much with their faces, looks, and pauses.  They start with casual banter and only slowly get down to the matter at hand.  Watch Jones' eyes at 1:00 and at 3:00.  

There is no music in this movie.  Other than the actor's voices the only thing you hear are the ambient sounds of West Texas.