Analysis of the opening of No Country For Old Men

Analysis of the opening of No Country For Old Men

The opening shots of No Country For Old Men are long shots of the landscape. This sets the scene of the film and gives the viewer an idea of where the film is set and could suggest what genre the film is.  The long shots at the beginning of the film are of a barren desert. It is very empty and there isn’t much going on.  The long shots are narrated. The character giving the commentary is not known so the voice is very mysterious and it doesn’t explain who the narrator is in the opening.

In the next shots, there is a two shot. It is a very wide and open shot and shows a lot of the landscape in the background. The wide, open landscape shows clearly that there is nowhere to escape and nowhere to run to. This adds to the thriller element of the film. The two characters in the shots are silhouetted. It is not clear who they are and none of their features are shown clearly in the shot. This is very mysterious and makes the audience wonder who these people are and why they are walking towards a police car.

  One of the characters puts a mysterious item into the front of the car. The item isn’t explained and the audience has no idea what it is. It is a close up shot on the item and it emphasizes the importance of the object. Also, the character still isn’t shown clearly in the shot and nothing has been revealed yet.

There is another two shot of the two characters. In the two shot, one of the characters is sat in the back of the vehicle, still silhouetted, and the other character is stepping into the car. Even though the character is being viewed from the front he is still shrouded in mystery and his face isn’t shown clearly in the shot. It adds to the mystery even more and also suggests that the character is quite sinister. He is sat very still and very quiet and his silhouetted face suggests that he may be some sort of criminal.

The commentary finishes with a long shot of the landscape. In the long shot, a car is driving down the road. The car isn’t identified but the audience assume it is the same car that the two characters were in. The long shot shows the setting again and how open and barren it is. It also emphasizes the idea of vastness and the lack of places to run to and how it would be impossible to disappear in the area. The camera also pans upwards in this shot.

The first piece of dialogue shows a character, a policeman, on the phone. It is a close up shot on the character and he is shown very clearly. In the background of the close up shot another character is shown walking towards the policeman. The character is out of focus and his face is unseen. The character is still very mysterious but the out of focus character is shown clearly enough to be identified as the character sat in the back of the car.

The next shots are taken from floor level and show a struggle between the two characters. The shots add tension to the opening of the film and add to the thriller element of the film. It also shows that the mysterious character is sinister and he is evil after all. The shots are very chaotic and add a sense of confusion to the scene. It isn’t explained why the character is attacking the policeman and it still doesn’t explain who he is.

The next couple of shots are ‘bird’s eye view’ shots and close up shots. The ‘bird’s eye view’ shot shows the two characters involved in the struggle and the expressions on their faces. The police man’s face is full of panic where as the attackers face seems relatively calm and suggests that he isn’t concentrating too much on what is going on.  The close up shot very clearly shows the expression of relief on the attacker and there appears to be a lack of remorse on the characters expression. The unexplained murder is also a massive suggestion that this film is a thriller.

There is a close up shot on a character watching his hands. The character is clearly the attacker. The way the character has removed the handcuffs suggests that he has done it before. This helps to explain the characters background and more of the character is being revealed. Also, the character doesn’t seem to be fazed by the crime he has committed and quickly cleans up his mess rather than dwelling on what he has just done. This character is clearly evil.