No Country for Old Men
December 10th, 2007 by Erin
Photo credit: Eric Ogden
I went to go see the new Coen brother’s picture No Country for Old Men the other night. I thought it was excellent - I’m a huge fan of their work. It’s completely unconventional and unsatisfying in all the right ways. What I found more interesting however was an article I read in Time magazine. Cormac McCarthy, the author of the novel which the movie is based on, is interviewing Joel and Ethan Coen.
C.M. At what point do you have some sense of whether a film is going to work or not, as you’re working on it?
J.C. I can almost set my watch by how I’m going to feel at different stages of the process. It’s always identical, whether the movie ends up working or not. I think when you watch the dailies, the film that you shoot every day, you’re very excited by it and very optimistic about how it’s going to work. And when you see it the first time you put the film together, the roughest cut, is when you want to go home and open up your veins and get in a warm tub and just go away. And then it gradually, maybe, works its way back, somewhere toward that spot you were at before.
It’s always reassuring to hear veteran film-makers say things like this. I remember watching the first cut of Birthday Girl and thinking I should change professions. It’s nice to hear that with time and experience the emotions are still there - you just learn to embrace them.
Posted in Film |