Analyzing Evil: Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men
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- čas přidán 10. 11. 2020
- Welcome everyone to the twelfth episode of Analyzing Evil! Our feature villain for this video is the ruthless Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for watching. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to let me know below!
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#AntonChigurh #NoCountryForOldMen #Evil - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Anton's choice of weapon tells you everything you need to know about how he views people. Cattle.
That makes sense!
Very apt observation.
@@aladinthemonkey768 like the random guy he killed to change cop car to civilian car? what are you on about
Good observation, it makes a lot of sense.
SNAKE, THEY'RE IN THERE WITH YOU!
"Are you going to kill me?"
"That depends. _Do_ _you_ _see_ _me?"_
That accountant is dead.
I totally agree.
Agreed. Anton is very consistent in his actions. He would simply view the accountant as an unfortunate victim of his circumstance. There was no answer he could give that would save his life. If he answered Yes,, then He is dead. If he said no. Anton would disdain the lie even if it were motivated by self preservation. He is simply allowing the Acountant an opportunity to accept his fate with some manner or dignity.
@@danhooper3723 So why he says that it depends?
@@CSSuser Throughout the move he toys with his prey. Watch his facial expressions when he interacts with those he is about to kill. He wants to see them squirm. He first provides a fleeting sense of hope to the accountant "it depends" .. only to be dashed when he tells him the criteria.
@@danhooper3723 He didn't do it with the FBI agent - Woody Harrelson, made it clear he's there to kill him.
A Group of psychologists analyzed 400 movies with psychopaths and Anton Chigurh is the most accurate of them all.
I am sure no one else knows that.
What a shocker
@@RMadaraPlay WE haven't seen you yet. Surprise us. Top Israel Keyes
It's a tie between him and Lou Bloom in my opinion
@@whatimonn but Lou Bloom is more of a sociopath with psychopathic tendencies. And characters with that trait is a very long list.
Anton really doesn’t feel anything. He is death personified. He is arbitrary, efficient, methodical and patient. You can delay him, but he simply cannot be stopped.
He was like that until he got into that car crash in the end, sure he didn’t feel the pain of a bone sticking out of his body but he realized a horrible realization that he isn’t the embodiment of death and that he is just like everyone else and it was shown in his desperation whne talking to the kid
He couldn't be stopped... until he violently, and suddenly was. His expedient and abject smiting was a direct rejection of the mythos of him being a demigod. It showed that in that world, even someone as cold, calculating, intelligent, brutal, and efficient as Anton could slip up and/or be annihilated out of nowhere.
EXCEPT by random-ass chance.
Great comment!
Exactly... U can run but u can't hide b*tch
Javier said in an interview, how much he hated that hairstyle. it was so bad, people would cross the street to avoid him, they were so scared 🤣 and yes, it's his hair
tbh his hair is so bad that I love it
@@sha3560 me too
@@sha3560 but that's the charm of Anton, oh and his smile, hahaha.
According to trivia for this movie Mr. Bardem, upon seeing the hair cut he got for this movie for the first time, said something to the effect of "I'm not getting laid for six months."
@@hpa2005 I think family guy made a joke about it
He wanted to kill the gas station clerk the MOMENT the clerk says "Y'all getting any rain up your way", and you see the moment Anton realizes this guy will remember him and coming from Dallas, and that he could tell police something if asked. You see Anton's demeanor change very fast, so that was his motive.
But he gives the gas station clerk a chance to live. A chance he DOESN'T give the guy whose truck he takes after the guy stops to help him.
Why did he give the clerk that chance?
Because, CLEARLY he doesn't kill needlessly, NOT because he has some sort of conscience, but because killing someone brings its own risks and exposures (someone could pull up during or immediately after, it could send the police on a hunt looking for him, etc.), and that exposure risks himself or guys mission or both, one of which he must care about.
Edit, so the danger that the guy will remember him is countered by the risk of killing him. What if someone else pulls up, what if a cop happens by, etc.
@@1450JackCade I think the reason he killed the chicken farmer was because he kept creating small talk like the gas station clerk. You can tell Anton wasn’t having any of it and when he asks to remove the chicken crates, the farmer questions him again, so it put the nail in the coffin for Anton to just waste the guy
@@trailermashproductions3437 mmm, I don't think so: he killed him because he was going to take his truck, everything else was just annoying interjections in between his goal, his annoyance was with those moment and the yokel's words and manner were that they were creating inefficiencies to his goal.
The reason he killed him is so that he wouldn't be identified, and because it makes taking the truck easier.
@@1450JackCade IMO, he killed the truck guy because no matter what, if you steal someone's truck they're going to A) report you to the police and B) they might put up a fight.
IMO, he gave the store clerk the chance because he wasn't sure whether he'd report him to the police, and because of that uncertainty he left his life up to chance.
Also, we are making an assumption that he did not give the truck guy the same coin-toss chance.... but that wouldn't make sense because, again, he would immediately call the police to say his car was stolen. So I think the above makes the most sense.
I might be wrong.
I would tend to agree but Anton's mind I can't call an open book either
Psychopaths always tend to be reasonable people who are extremely smart. Thats how they hide in plain sight as Anton did in the film.
no shit Sherlock we saw the movie
extremely smart isn't a required quality but it does make them more interesting.
-Come over an see Johnny Depp pursuing Amber Heard with a blade as she begs him to stop, a recording played at trial that I transcribed and loudened
@@toaster9922I recall most studies showing psychopaths to have a lower IQ than the average; seldom do you find a psychopath as intelligent as Bundy or otherwise. I think they are believed to be mostly intelligent as due to their lack of consciousness enabling them to seamlessly emulate the traits & tendencies of others for manipulation.
Except Anton wasn't smart. His threatening of the clerk in the gas station was one of the most heavy-handed things a person in his position could do, as it guaranteed the clerk would remember him, what he looked like, and that his car was from Dallas. Not to mention, the clerk _wasn't even looking at Anton_ when he asked about the rain in Dallas, so he wouldn't have been able to describe what he looked like later if Anton had just responded with "No rain today, thankfully." Ironically, responding the way he did in the movie made Anton more realistic, as doing stupid stuff like that is usually how real-life psychopathic criminals get themselves caught.
I think I've meant to say this here a thousand times and just kept forgetting, so here goes:
The gas station attendant was nearly killed because he let Anton know that he was actually paying attention to him by asking about the weather in Dallas (where the car's owner was from). He essentially made it known to Anton that he could potentially be used to identify him and the car he was driving.
Which is kind of ironic really, because if Anton had just let it go and given the guy a bullshit answer he likely would've forgotten about him at the end of the day. By being theatrical Anton made himself someone that guy would remember forever.
He'll also remember to not be nosey... "What business is it of urs....?" That plate question, and attempt at trivial convo with a person who asked his debt only, was the start of him almost dying
I completely agree
Always good to learn something New, should i ever need that .. skill 😏
Anton was death, Everyone remembers him but it changes nothing. Bad movie.
@@PancakeDiariesif everyone followed your advice no one would ever talk to anyone. The world would be a very lonely and disconnected place. We are social by Nature. It was an innocent question
I like how he kinda chokes when eating the peanut after the clerk tells him he married in to it lol.
Even better was that that was improved by Javier!
@@poley23 I think you mean “improvised”
@@poley23 He did it by accident haha
@@poley23 added a depth of character to Anton. He does find things humorous at times.
in his "twisted" rationale.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
He was even scarier in the novel. Kills an entire Mexican hit squad in broad daylight, kills a guy outside a diner just for calling him names, etc. And his conversations with victims are longer and more psychopathic than in the film. Great antagonist
Yeah, I wish they'd left the parking lot fight in the movie. Especially the way the man's friends were trying to wake him up after Anton had broken his neck.
You doing the whole "tHe bOoK wAs bEtTer" shit?
@@trollmctrollmcface7411 did I use the word "better" in there somewhere?
@@jamesbarker9895 Go cry
@@trollmctrollmcface7411 aw look it's tough guy Troll McIncel
You completely missed the most disturbing scene. One in which he kills Moss's wife simply because he promised to do so before killing Moss.
Uh, Chigurh isn't the one who got Llewellyn Moss . .
Yeah, Moss was killed by the Cartel members.
reading comprehension, people. he never said anton killed moss
@@yourehereforthatarentyou Oh, I see what you mean. Actually it's a little vague . . But I remember that I wasn't sure myself whether Chigurh actually WAS the one who got Moss, early in my viewing . . Later it became clear, either because the movie made it clear, or when I read the book, which is damn good also btw. Sorry.
@@yourehereforthatarentyou it’s your reading comprehension that needs work. The original comment is insinuating that Anton killed Moss first, and then his wife.
He was voted the most realistic psychopath in a hollywood movie by a group of 10 psychiatrists.
Yeah, 400 different Psychopaths. He was the worst....amazing writing and acting
@@TheSixStringGuy worst as in most evil?
Fun fact: psychiatrists ARE psychopaths
@ostrich8BC yeah probably, or best as in he did the worst
I met a few and the worst psychopath actually had a lot of “emotion”. But was cunning manipulative. Uncaring and with a subtle narcissism that was hidden. Apart from the fact it allowed her to be the laziest of them. Laziness is a huge psychopathic trait
No movie has ever portrayed a psychopath as realistically as this movie. Anton according to top psychologist is about as close to what a real psychopath would act like.
I'd NEVER seen a movie, like this. Hell! It didn't have any theme music, either.
Dr Evil......lol
I think Hillary Clinton has him beat.
Watch "The house that jack built".
Nightcrawler, to name one.
That modified weapon he carries around is pretty terrifying.
He’s influenced me to always Carry a silencer on shotgun classes in cod for a while it was painful but it’s recently gotten better
Pneumatic captive bolt gun.For killing livestock.
Check out the Hush Puppy .410 bore shotgun.
@@marclafauce3726 untraceable.
Straight up killing machine.
When Carla Jean refused to pick heads or tails it shook him up more than anything else.
Here was this woman that had nothing to lose, her mom died and her husband was killed. No children or anything to hold on for, she didn't care what the coin said. Her revenge was making him do what he wasn't used to.
She made him choose, and that broke him a bit and thats why I believe his car crashed.
In truth, the car crash was random. It puts into perspective that despite how Anton seems, he's only a man, and not immune to the chaos of the world.
As well, he's not too shaken up to say, “I got here the same way the coin did.” after she refuses. It's worth noting that in the novel Carla does relent and picks wrong.
No
Arguably, Carla Jeans refusal shaking him up, in the movie at least, coupled with the boys, could have caused him to not pay as much attention.
@@RandomPerson-sf9vddefinitely, but not paying attention doesn't guarantee death on the road.
His car crashed because the other driver ran a red light. Remember how he checked his boots for blood before he left? Killing her was just another day at the park. The car wreck though, a small sample of karma if you wanna call it that. Some reviewers have analyzed this part of the film as showing Anton is as vulnerable to chance as anyone else he has used his coin on. While he flips the coin for others, others, even people he doesnt see coming, are also flipping the coin on him.
Anton is truly evil. Above all else Anton prevents his ‘opponents’ from gaining information about him and his intentions/past. With the deputy that he strangles he takes every precaution to make sure he can’t be heard preparing, even his preferred form of murder is essentially a way of shooting someone but the bullet is immediately retracted. That’s his tactical pattern.
So when the gas station attendant sees the car he’s driving is from Dallas, Anton sees a pedestrian, a truly harmless man who never entered the world and took something for himself, gaining information on him casually. This inspires Anton to show the gas station attendant that the world is deeper and darker than he thinks. He’s essentially saying ‘ohh you’d like to know more about me?’ And then shows him his soul. The image of a broken shell, a non human acting strictly as a harbinger of fate is enough to shake the man to his core and this pleases Anton.
He’s a social reject who has used his cold calculating brutality as a way of pre rejecting the world at large before it gets the chance to do the same to him. Truly a top tier villain.
He is a villain who deserves karma.
@@baileyfrazier2635 Wait wait wait, are you telling me that the villain did bad things?
Never thought eating peanuts could be so intimidating
One more job!
He's straight up scary through and through.
It's an imitation of disarming banality that makes his otherworldliness even more apparent.
😂😂😅
Thought they were cashews?
"He never kills just to kill."
The crow: "Am I a joke to you?"
Anton: Yes 😐 🥜
It's believed in old wise tails that crows spread gossip, for that reason I believed Anton doesn't like them.
I thought he missed though
God I hate how people keep using the same bullshit joke formats.
@@dudeimgeorge Congratulations, you figured out memes.
A possible reason for almost killing the store clerk may be because he noticed the plate on Anton’s car, which could be used to track him down. The clerk remarks that he’s a long way from home, and that’s when Anton gets confrontational. Just a thought though
I noticed that
It feels as though he hates ignorant people. He refers to himself similarly to the coin in that it took a long time with infinite luck to get to that one store. Where is the coin going next? That doesn't matter as long as the coin gets to where it belongs. That man was given a 22 year old coin with an intense history because he won the game. The coin is now special, even if it is just a coin. Anton is special even if he's just human. It is ignorant to ask where the killer is going rather than where he is going to kill.
I think he definitely killed the accountant.
"Are you going to shoot me?"
"That depends. _Do you see me?_ "
I always interpreted that to mean, if Chirgurh _wasn't_ going to kill you, he wouldn't be standing in front of you right now. Obviously the accountant can see him, so the only true answer is, "yes."
No... U must not be from a dangerous area. Lots of crime is committed publicly. If ever asked if u see, or what u see... The answers are "no" and "shit"
@@PancakeDiaries yes, but Anton is not your average imbecile with a pistol he can’t use.
The only answer is yes. Lol
yeah that's what I thought I dont really see how else that scene was supposed to be interoperated
while i do think it was just him saying “you didn’t see anything” i like this interpretation too. it makes him all the more ghastly
I always thought of Anton as a psychologically broken farmer. The tools he uses and how he uses it along with his principles reminds me of someone who is putting down cattle and farm animals that are no longing benefiting.
True!!
I didn't look at it that way but dang u right
True. At some point in the film the sheriff describes the tool that they use to put down livestock and it's the exact same tool that Anton used to kill the first few people. I think it was chosen on purpose.
Yep
I think he uses it to symbolize how he sees other people and views the world around him. He interprets human life the same way a farmer might interprets its cattle.... life means very little, to the point he will kill someone over a coin toss if he deems it appropriate.
I don't think Anton enjoys killing, I think he enjoys fulfilling his role as the bringer of fate and destiny as he sees it.
Yes I feel the same way. He doesn’t seem to want to kill so much as he feels it’s a role he’s being made to play
Nah, he enjoys it!
I agree, I don’t think we can even really use words like “enjoy” when talking about his character
What about when he aimed at the bird on the bridge and fired? I don’t know if he was shooting the railing to startle or the bird, to kill. I’ve always wondered about that scene.
Oh he def enjoys killing lmao. There is a certain amount of satisfaction he gets out of it but only does it mostly when he believes he needs too.
I watched this film in my Film Studies class a few days ago. Chigurh was a terrifying character, not because of the violence or how he kills someone, but it's how he's both calm and almost predictable. Only a few survived an encounter with him and that was just by chance
True but hes only predictable because we know he kills. Atleast only after the first kill he does.
The silencer on the shotgun has always struck me as a very interesting murder weapon
A silent savage
Anton's Shotgun in the movie is a Remington 11-87. The Remington 11-87 was not designed until 1987 and the film takes place in 1980.
@@danbourg76 90% of the guns in this film are anachronistic though so it doesn't really matter
@@danbourg76 damn so he's a time traveler as well as a psychopath!
@@drysoup3017 Time wounds all heels.
That was one of scariest characters I’d ever seen. Just the fact that there’s no normal reaction or show of emotion. Just a machine that’s been turned on like the terminator robot. And the fact that’s there’s people exactly like him that could be living right next door. Going to work everyday, playing with their children.. Just waiting to be turned on.
Fuck no
“Playing with their children” and “waiting to be turned on” should not be within a couple words of each other.
Check out Goodnight Mommy. Yikes!!
Letting scary stories affect your real life. Sheep.
@@thereisnosanctuary6184 what? How is this “letting scary stories affect your real life”? It’s a goddamn story. He’s not saying that he has been having nightmares, he’s just saying he’s a scary character. Please shut the fuck up.
His haircut is genius. He has such striking large and unique facial features which would be best highlighted by a very clean short style or even maybe long curly hair. The perfect bowl cut highlights the unique features of the face due to the length and the bangs. Also obviously it's a child like haircut which contrasts with his sharp intelligence and cold hearted behavior. It's really amazing. I love whoever came up with this haircut idea. It seems so meaningless but it's actually a very well thought out and effective piece of character development
It's the page boy cut from the Sixties. Since the movie is set in the late Seventies, early Eighties, it's about ten years out of date. This makes his odd style another aspect of his character. He sticks with the haircut he had when he was young and doesn't accept update.
When the actor saw his haircut he said he won’t get laid for four months.
It's meant to represent the hood of the reaper.
@@josephdial387 lol I was going to post that very thing. It's also hair that I associate with E. Europeans all the way towards the latter part of the 20th century, but maybe that's because of the name "Anton". And I always wondered if his origin might be E. European because those are some hard people, man, and so many godawful things have happened over there. The kind of things that produce stunted, bizarre individual cases sometimes.
@@Trollificusv2
Possibly.
I have known some really hardass Eastern Europeans and those countries have experience several centuries of invasions, dictatorships, collapsed economies, and all sorts of misery where even decent people can be cold as hell.
I knew this Romanian chick and one day were where talking about how Nazi collaborators were treated in some countries. I mentioned how my own relatives who fought told me how Dutch women who slept with German soldiers often had their heads shaved and were some were painted orange.
She said, "When the Soviets came in, something like that happened in Romania. Those that opposed the Fascists found women who supported the Fascists or slept with German soldiers and cut their faces with razors or doused them with boiling water. *shrugs* Hey, paint washes off and hair grows back."
He never gives away his emotions. Cold , calculate, precision yet not without a sense of purpose. Kind of a psychopathic killer chess master. Truly terrifying .
Because he is a fictional police character, so he is drawn by the imagination of a policeman, in fact Anton is Moss.
Relax buddy it ain’t that deep lol
Rest in peace, Cormac McCarthy, you created one of the greatest villains ever.
There has been a lot of analysis of Anton in the past and even psychological explanation as to why he is and how he is. Even the coin makes sense: He believes he is NOT responsible for his actions and that they are justified, as though he is merely an immortal tool of fate. He kills those who are directly in his way because it is their fault for being in his way but uses the coin toss to justify killings he WANTS to commit because it's not his fault if someone loses their life in a coin toss, that's just fate.
And exactly that, is why the last scene with Mary Jane is so interesting. She calls him out and rocks his world upside down. She didn't play the coin toss game. She stated the coin is a mere ruse. Yes if you call it right he won't kill you; he's a man of principle. But the fact he kills Mary Jane even when she refuses, reveals Mary Jane is right after all. It's now been proven he doesn't JUST kill when people don't fit his convictions or are destined to die as embodied by the coin toss. For just a moment, Anton is being called a crazy killer (like he is at several moments in the movie, to the confusion of Anton himself) and he doesn't have a counter argument.
As such, quite poetic, and maybe as a consequence of being shaken of his rock, he himself almost finds himself to die of mere chance during the crash. The crossing of an intersection if you consider it in terms of life and death, is a gamble every time in real life as well. There is no gaurantee the green light ensures your safety. However, Anton survives the crash. And as such, it will probably reinforce his view of destiny and his role of bringing it. If he was truly to die there; he would have. But no. The world has more in store for him.
@@marinko6450 Great analysis!!!
@@marinko6450 Fantastic! But there is another layer that could be there. We don't actually know what he did to Mary Jane but whatever he did do it was without the coin deciding. Then the car crash. A few moments earlier or a few moments later, the crash would not have happened. The crash was "fate"'s punishment. A shocking blow to remind him that he is merely "fate"'s instrument, he can do nothing without its permission. In that regard, Chirugh is the Greek Nemesis. A supernatural being doling out punishment at the behest of the Fates. Every character comes to a point of choice and those choices lead either away or into Chirugh's path.
@@sctumminello Yea very nice addition indeed. I however would not call his participation in the crash punishment. Because fate knows no right or wrong. Right and wrong is a figment of human ideas about civilized behavior. Even in religion god is called both evil and good. Murderer and sparer of lives. Anton as such, isn't the embodiement of evil or something deserving divine or fate punishment. He is just an actor, but one that is supposedly a bringer of fate - wether he truly is or just believes this is of no real importance. Interestingly thanks to your comment, Anton is being shown he in no way stands above fate or it's wrath. He's a tool. If you however consider him killing Mary Jane as being out of fate's allowed book, then yes, the crash is fate telling Anton he needs to abide by it's rules. But thats rather ambiguos. Though granted, our whole analysis of this character and his motives are.
I remember Anton promising he wouldnt kill her if Moss gave him the money(wouldn't save moss though), and he never gets the money. So he goes to Mary because he's "a man of his word" and when she tells him he "doesn't have to do this" he offers the coin toss. When she refuses he follows through with his previous ambition.
Every McCarthy novel is an analysis in evil.
@@SmoothInvestigator and to bring Judge Holden to life (in a movie), even harder. Man, I love blood Meridian. Ben Nichols wrote some amazing songs based on Blood Meridian: Last Pale Light In The West.
@@adrianvalenzuela6139 I just started blood meridian
@@HorkPorkler I hated blood miridian. Too much unnecessary killing of animals lol
I've only read All the Pretty Horses thus far and I liked it a lot.
Blood meridian is his master work imo
The coin scene is because he's unsure if it's alright to leave a witness or if it would just lead to more police involvement if he kills him, so instead of deciding for himself, he leaves it to chance. Making the act free from his own bias.
this is the number one example of someone trying to come up with their own interpretation of a scene we all know the real meaning of.... plenty of scenes where he leaves plenty of evidence, he never cleans anything up mate.
My wife and I saw this in the movie theater. Super intense. It’s look perfectly fit it’s time period of 1980; from the hairstyles, cars, phones, and tan-colored everything 😁Didn’t look Hollywood at all. It literally looked like you could step right into the late 70s/early 80s.
that's really cool. you must have grown up in those times, then?
@@reubena7854 Actually I was born in ‘81!
"It's" is a contraction, "its" is possessive. English isn't rocket science.
@@slappy8941 you probably ask the teacher about homework
b r o u g h a m
He always kept his word. He didn't have to kill Llewellyn's wife, but he told him he would.
---I love that speech she gives him refusing to participate.
@@judywright4241 One of the best monologs of all time.
@@GeorgeFromThe856 💯💯💯
Llewellyn
But he still gave her a coin toss
The reason he nearly killed the store clerk was because he noticed Anton's license plates and asked, "You getting any rain up your way?"
That's exactly what I thought! And then he proceeded to leave the store nonchalantly after the coin toss knowing there was no reason to worry about the old man since he just scared the living shit out of him.
Bingo!
Yes, and good catch.
IQ thru the roof
@@brunokubin and probably because “fate” told him that the old man won’t talk
What scares me the most about this character is that he does not receive joy from killing, he never tortures any victim, he just sees killing as nothing, and that gives him the power of doing everything, he is not sadistic, maniatic, obsessive, he is nothing and sees nothing on doing what he does, just a man acting upon a higher power we could never understand
He definitely does show some level of sadism. Him playing a game and being confrontational with that store clerk seemed pretty intentionally cruel.
He's definitely sadistic. He takes pleasure, for example, in psychologically tormenting Carson Wells before killing him.
He almost came when he killed the first guy in the movie
His character as a whole makes for a fascinating study. He never has anything close to casual conversation he meets. It’s as if he’s fishing for a reason to justify their impending murder. His appearance definitely says a lot about him. His haircut is bizarre, not one that any normal person would ask for. His fashion sense follows suit. He wears a denim jacket to “blend in” but it’s not the kind of jacket that most anyone would wear. It shows that for professional hit man, he’s no master of disguise.
An overlooked theme in this film is the dangers of solitude. A character like Anton wouldn't be particularly scary in a more densely populated area; he'd get recognised, profiled, people would call him out and help each other and he'd struggle to remain inconspicuous. By definition he's bad at vanishing into a crowd. But he can vanish into a desert. In a city gas station, his threatening demeanour wouldn't work because the clerk would be one of several staff and there'd be customers everywhere and police one phone call away. Every time a character faces off with Anton they're otherwise alone, with no resources or society to aid them. All of the film's characters are isolated, geographically and socially, with no safety nets; often nobody else even knows where they are. I see Anton kind of as an expression of how vulnerable we are when we're alone.
That’s a good point, but one thing to point out: Anton does kill his employer in the urban office high rise (In downtown El Paso or Dallas I presume). But even in this case, that floor of the building is isolated and secret, being where these illegal operations are organized- so really, your point about isolation still stands there
Nah, this is an ad hoc rationalization that you're imposing on the story, it's not a dimension of the story of itself. This is not "overlooked" any more than any other aspect of the story that resonates with a particular person in a particular way.
Yeah... that's why in reality big cities have the highest crime rate.
@@artistryartistry7239 I disagree, but short of hunting down and interrogating Cormac McCarthy or the Coens, I'm not sure how we can find out who's right.
So he's strategic and pragmatic as suggested by the video host taking many of the things you say into account so as to minimize anyone identifying him or isolating people at the best moments to take them out.
There's a part in the film where Anton randomly tries to shoot a bird as he's driving. Even though he's really close to it, he misses and the bird flies away. I think this supports your argument that his killings have a purpose. The one time he tries to kill randomly, he fails.
good catch
I took it as him being a bad shot when everything isn’t in place. Which is why he missed Llewelyn later on
@@AYVYN He shot Llewellyn though?
@@ouroboros5793 he did, it's kind of like what Anton did to shoot the bird. Shot wasn't supposed to kill Llewellyn but to slow him down so he could be easily tracked so Moss could be more predictable
@@zee3184 Yeah, I thought I was misremembering the scene or my assumption was that Harman was talking about when Anton shot the driver instead of Llewelyn, which I took as intentional too
I never knew who Javier Bardem Was before this film but afterwords I couldn’t picture him being anything but a villain in a movie. He was absolutely incredible
I always sort of got this feeling that if a person encounters Anton, they're more likely to survive if they're totally honest and upfront with him, and that they don't have any ulterior motives. Anton abides by a notion of 'rules', whether these are set by him (as in the case of Accountant) or parameters set by those above the people he runs into who who are just doing their job (like the lady at the desk) or living their lives (as in the case with the kids right after his car crash). To me, the only major exception is the Deputy- who he kills in order to continue his job. I think a of people (NOT ALL) that end up being killed by him because they inserted themselves into the situation.
Not many movie characters have made me as genuinely scared as Anton. Dude is everything I fear in a human
Watch Cape Fear
to me he's not that scary he is just weird and sure he could easily kill me but he doesn't have a really intimating personality if anything it's boring
One of the most terrifying villains in TV is Lalo Salamanca from Better Call Saul imo. He's very similar to Anton, and outside of his family clearly sees other humans as cattle and killing seems to come as easy to him as breathing. However unlike Anton, he's extremely charismatic and charming, which makes him all the more terrifying.
@@jaskrip nope the only villain from better call Saul I see is the owner of that one chicken restaurant cause dude knows how to adapt to any environment he is put into
@@ryanthereaper5032 i don't the movie or character you are talking about? pls tell me his name?
Crazy how deathly and pale he looks in the scene where he pulls the guy over.
Great makeup artistry there, adds so much to his character
The grin is demonic
Defenitely
@@starwarsroo2448 haha it sure is
"I need you to step out of the car, sir."
What’s great about the movie is they establish Moss (Josh Brolin) as a competent opponent. He’s capable, tough, and experienced. It makes Anton’s cunning and ruthlessness that much more terrifying, knowing even someone with skills and experience well above the average person is virtually helpless against Chigurh.
something i find interesting about Anton is his dislike for blood. Sure he's a brutal killing monster but he wants things to be clean, quick, and done without a trace left behind. The way i figured out that he killed the wife at the end of the film is him checking his shoes for blood before he leaves. it's fascinating to me.
i think that “rage” on his face at the beginning when strangling that guy is actually just him in pain from the handcuffs cutting into his wrists
No. We see him in the aftermath of a car crash with his bone snapped clean in two poking out of his skin and he never even winces.
@@theGhostfaceKiller666 also when he heals himself he doesn’t even make a sound
@@theGhostfaceKiller666 that's a good point, but also consider that his composure during the car crash was during the aftermath of something that was unexpected and over in a moment, whereas strangling the deputy likely meant the cuffs we're cutting into his hands for several minutes, and it was an action that he was willing himself to endure rather than something that unexpectedly happened to him
@@theGhostfaceKiller666
That’s mainly because he is in shock from the crash, with a lot more adrenaline running through his veins.
Thinking of Chigurh's violent expression I think it derives from the physical ordeal of strangling the deputy in such a position. I mean he has to pull his almost straight arms to his pelvis to choke the deputy which is a grown man fighting back. I'd assume that performance takes gymnast level strength and strength endurance. Anton even gasps when he's done.
I feel like this analysis missed all of the core elements of Anton and his role in the movie. Anton views himself simply as a harbinger to fate. The reason his killings are so solemn and unremorseful is because he sees himself as carrying out what fate decreed. When he interprets someone as being sinful, such as the store clerk whom he deemed to be greedy, he decides to let chance decide their fate. In his mind he does not want to kill the man, he flips the coin though to let the coin judge the consequences of the clerk's sins so that he may carry out what was decided. He does not view his killing as injust or wrong because he is allowing fate to dictate the judgment for their sins. When someone is deemed worthy to live then that is fine, when they must be killed then in his mind it is what was intended. Additionally, the cattle gun is symbolic because he views others as being less than himself. He views himself as being pure and absolved of sin while everyone else deserves judgment. The ending of the movie was the ultimate form of poetic judgment and I am saddened it was not included in the analysis. Anton is injured by a random car crash. It was by complete chance that this occurred and it nearly cost him everything. In my mind this is poetic justice because it displays that Anton is not this divine tool meant to deliver judgment but rather is subject to chance just as much as the next person.
Trust me I'm an expert because my name is Chance.
Awesome ! I thought about the coin flipping („superior“ power decides) aspect too when watching this .. you put it in a much more thought through way though
So his character is very similar to Johan Liebert 🤔
This right here is the correct analysis. Fills in all the holes in this video and is a much cleaner resolution of Antons actions through the movie. Bravo.
Agree….. the guy who made this video missed the entire mark. 🤦♂️
P
My favorite part is when Anton says "Everything. Long in the short places. Short in the long places. It should be both from the future and the past. Something a child would do to a doll." When he went to get a hair cut.
"he never raises his voice" in the coin flip scene he mildly raises his voice when he says "you already asked me that"
Hmmmm....true
He’s more of a mirrored human version of the terminator. He is emotionless, remorseless, brutal, high pain tolerance, kills with an intended goal and pledges his allegiance to the organization he’s in, much like the terminator is to Skynet. Chigurh is one of the more rational and logical villain.
Love the PFP.
Battleram2468 Anton Chigurh is more badass than the terminator. The terminator is artificial. Anton Chigurh becomes automated over an unspecified period of time. The only pleasure he has is keeping people on edge.
@@johnreece5540 he’s just awesome, he genuinely terrifies me.
Interesting analysis. Sounds good.
O
Id argue the last sentence “He only cares for his own life”.
A man such as Anton doesn’t see himself as human, he sees himself as fate/destiny. A vessel of order and death. If he were to die, personally I feel like he’d accept it.
The ending of the movie you can see it as fate slapping him back for his “rules” that brought to that situation, but he still didn’t die. I feel like he would take it as “I’m still meant to carry on my task”.
Pretty much. He sees life as purposeless and his only real desire is to eliminate life before his own eyes
very good comment. also, psychopaths that kill out of a "hate" for everyone hate themselves as well. Also why many mass murderers and serial killers commit suicide or engage in risk activities.
@@Josh729J very astute observation
@@Josh729J Yeah. This is how I see it.
A person is conditioned to hate themselves (through mental/physical abuse)
The person hates themselves, but their abusers more.
Since, everything intrinsic to this person has been ruined, and made reason for self-hate, they can never purge their inadequacy / be redeemed.
Therefore, the only path left is to clear out the garbage that is worse than them.
When there is no more left, suicide is the last job, to rid the last of the now, worst evil.
The car wreck he gets in is right after we assume he kills Carla jean. I saw a comment on another video that said ‘Carla Jean didn’t lose the game, she was killed for refusing to play it.’ In that situation, she refused to let Anton be the harbinger of fate/chance that he sees himself as. But he still had to kill her, and the car blindsiding him was the universe clapping back in a way, and Anton accepts it stoically as he does everything else. That’s how I like to look at it anyway
The Coen boys have a real gift for creating riveting characters. Chigurh is just one of many.
I don't think his facial expression while strangling the deputy is out of anger, but rather because he's struggling and straining as hard as he can, since he exhales in relief after finishing him off. As for the store clerk, it's worth noting that the man previously mentioned that he noticed Anton was driving a car with a Dallas license plate, and because of this, he views the man as a potential threat, since Anton is trying to remain undetected, but with the coin toss, he gives him a chance to live, since he technically didn't do anything wrong.
The Coen brother's version of the Terminator. It really does feel like a horror movie at times just like the first Terminator had that slasher feel to it.
Both the Terminator and Two Face combined
He's a softer version of Judge Holden. That's what makes him even more terrifying to me.
When I saw this in theaters I was legit disturbed by him, I have never gotten nightmares from a movie, really ever. His total disregard for human life was so masterfully portrayed.
Anton is flesh and blood and I’m far more terrified of him than a Terminator. What a movie.
I wrote a 35 page paper in Grad school arguing that it is indeed a horror film.
For the gas station clerk, it was the fact that he got chatty with Anton. “Got any rain up your way?”, “I seen you was from Dallas” were conversation, with no point. The accountant’s “nobody, accountant” was direct with no extra info.
I always thought "I seen you was from Dallas" was what brought the clerk into danger. Anton realized that the clerk might give off information that could benefit his pursuers, therefor the clerk, just for noiticing the license plate and which way the car was going, was a liability, but Anton couldn´t quite make out how dangerous. On the other hand, Anton seemed kind of fascinated at just how much the clerk didn´t realize how deep he shoveled himself in with that one, single careless remark.
I think it is mirrored with the dialogue "Is there anything else?"-"like what?"- "Like anything"- " Is that your question? If there´s anything with anything?"
Anton seems genuinely amused that that the clerk is absolutely oblivious of what´s at stake. And he is amused/gets a thrill out of the fact, that he, very unlike any other moment, just doesn´t really know what to do. Can´t decide whether the clerk is harmless or a danger to him, as he is fundamentally an innocent guy.
So he gambles, let´s fate decide, and the guy wins. And I tend to think Anton likes that outcome, although he would have shot him without remorse or hesitation, had tails come up.
Anton is annoyed by the clerk's nosiness ("what business is it of yours where I'm from, friendo") disguised as folksy friendliness. He's inclined to punish the clerk and decides to amuse himself by playing a game that makes the clerk fearful, while quite unaware of how close he is to a death that Anton enjoys having the power to inflict.
Lol
@@paavobergmann4920 Very well put. I like the scene where he's clearly annoyed by the office lady at Llewelyn camping car lot and gives her a death sentence look but is then interrupted by someone flushing the toilet off screen. He then moves away while giving her a "you got lucky" look and she probably thinks he's just a weirdo.
No. It's not about his being "chatty." It's about the attendant making a connection between the stolen car and where it was from, and how that's a problematic detail in terms of potential evidence that places Anton at a particular time and place.
I ascribe to the theory that Anton Chigurh is the embodiment of Death or the Angel of Death himself.
He always gets those he stalks in the end.
He can't be killed or stopped (only delayed).
He flips a coin to determine an individual's fate.
He has no motivation for what he does; he just does it.
He really takes no joy in his "profession", but does it extremely well.
Someone had a theory that he was a demon or at least a possessed person. That one scene when him and the good sheriff were in the same room , but couldn't see each other.
I've never heard of Death flipping a coin to determine someone's fate. You're thinking of Two-Face.
Javier Bardem portrayed Anton in such an amazing film. No Country For Old Men is just awesome and one of my favorite films of all time because of its complexity.
Anton is a metaphor for chaos. Order versus chance. His character is the personification of forces at work beyond our control that will alter our lives no matter what kind of order we try to use to shape it.
Obligatory "Heath Ledger's Joker" reference. But honestly, who do you think could get the job done better? Anton is a complete loner but that is what allows him to be so efficient. Joker has many connections and THAT is what allows HIM to be so efficient.
Ok jordan peterson. But really tho (meant that jokingly), Anton would be the personification of too much order being chaos, rather than pure chaos.
chaos? what chaos do you speak of? FYI - Anton, a human criminal, is occupied by a divine force until the car crash at the end which signifies the divine force has left ( noise)
@@whatsup3270 Yes, that's certainly one interpretation.
I personally think Anton is a character of order. Order based on his principals(which he mentions in the movie) and his twisted perception of reality. To a normal person it looks like maybe hes crazy, but hes acting according to his inner rules.
There is another interesting character made by Cohen Brothers, which is Lorne Malvo in Fargo. That guy is the true representation of chaos. He screws people lives just for fun and he clearly states that "there are no rules". Him and Anton kinda complement each other in a way. Both are merciless killers, but one is a reserved, awkward silent sociopath, who kinda acts according to his twisted beliefs, and the other one who got amazing social skills to turn himself into whatever person he wants, but who has no rules and killing people or destroying their lives playing on their weaknesses is a game for him. Malvo is the true representation of Lucifer. Make the world burn and watch it collapsing.
Hand to God, no villain in a movie ever gave me chills. But the coin toss scene truly terrified me. He knew he could make the choice himself. He knew there would be no challenge or chance of failure or capture. But his detest of small talk and the gas clerks prodding of information couldn't be allowed to slide. So he let chance decide. For once the gas station clerk would choose his own destiny.
Same. When I watched this movie I couldn’t take out my eyes off of him because he terrified me.
WOW! probably the most intelligent analysis I've ever seen. Do you sir have your own channel?
@@MrManerd I'm thinking about it, but as of yet I'm afraid not. Thank you though.
Well said.
While I agree with the soundness of your analysis and I believe that you make some excellent points, I think the beauty of this movie/novel is that it has resulted in so many different perspectives and views on the Anton character.
I personally believe that Anton's dogmatic "principles" of death are intended to represent the inevitability of one's fate. The clerk's fate had already been decided, as was Clara's. Anton enjoys playing with this illusion of choice, but ultimately he is shifting the blame of their fate onto a game of chance. Clara even points this out in the movie when she refused to call the coin toss. Anton is thus offering these people hope when there is none to be had. There is no chance decision made by the coin, as it rather serves as an obstacle for the victim to overcome in a demonstration of their hopelessness and inevitable consequences. Anton is still the one who will choose whether to pull the trigger, not the coin.
It's also not in Anton's character to leave mercy up to chance. Mercy is something that he decides, as demonstrated when he scares the pigeon by intentionally missing the gunshot.
Another one of the key factors in suggesting this viewpoint, is his discussion about the journey of the coin. The coin is intended to represent his current victim, and how they too have journeyed to this exact point in time. Their destination has been determined by a specific series of choices/events. Whether they live or die is not up to them, and it is not up to the coin, but rather it is up to the choices and events in their lives leading up to that moment. Anton furthers this by saying that the clerk should treasure the coin; but by also saying that it's just a regular coin like any other, Anton suggests that one's fate is an everyday occurance rather than some magical divination that occurs once in a lifetime.
To me, the film creatively demonstrates the absence of luck and chance in our world. It's a different take from yours, but I think various views and interpretations are a good thing!
The reason he goes to kill the gas station clerk; is because he identified he had come from Dallas. If you pay attention he never even makes eye contact with the man until he asks about the weather “up that way”, noting that he had came from Dallas, which if the police came asking about anything out of the ordinary, he might note “saw a stranger here that came from Dallas”.
On a note that relates to his professional capabilities, notice how after he is shot in the leg, for a few scenes afterwards he wears red trousers. I assumed this was in case the stitches came loose and the wound starts to bleed again.
"When the Coen Brothers casted this role, they wanted to find someone who seemed as if they had just come from Mars."
That's interesting. According to an abnormal psychology textbook I read in college, when one of the first PET scans of the brain of a lifelong violent criminal diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder was examined by a neurologist, the doctor is said to have remarked in astonishment: 'Is this person from Mars?!'
Interesting. Do you remember the criminals name?
Asnwer the man!!
I'd love a response to this too
Yes, they put names, addresses and photos of the people who were case studies. This way, any freshman doesn't have to study, they can just call up the person (ooh, they include the phone number, I didn't mention that)...
@@arcanondrum6543 what
Anton is like a bizarro John Wick. A man of sheer human will and determination, but no puppy.
This is absolutely fitting.
@@M1ManOwaR I don't know about that... John Wick wouldn't just kill someone walking down the street for the sake of doing it. Wick has a specific goal, and he doesn't deviate from that. Wick doesn't stop to smell the roses and then kill the bush.
@@kleetus92 That is why he said bizzaro Wick. Like the weird version of him,similar yet different.
@@matijalukovic727 most definitely
@@kleetus92 you just unintentionally solidified OPs point. Your description could fit both wick and Anton. The video specifically talks about how Anton kills pragmatically and not randomly. He enjoys killing and ‘playing with his food’ but he doesn’t do it for sport. It’s always a means to an end
He did the coin-flip with the gas station owner because the man enquired about his license plates. Anton considered it a possible loose-end.
Exactly. Anton kills everyone who poses a threat to his anonymity. He had no choice but to kill the witness. He never negotiates (unlike Llewelyn who uses all negotiation to keep going). The only witnesses he doesn't kill in the whole movie was at the end, because he was physically incapable to do so. So, he bribed the 3 kids to by time to get away
"I got here the same way the coin did." Anton says this when the widowed wife Carla says she won't call the coin flip and says its all up to anton. I think this is one of the most important pieces of Antons character and makes him more complex than just evil. Moss, the husband, gambled on himself to come out on top and get the money for him and his wife. That decision was the metaphorical coin flip that set anton into motion. He got there by chance just as the coin did, and the coin flip is a courtesy anton offers to reroll the odds of fate. Even amongst man and steer, there's no guarantees of who comes out on top. Anton isn't evil, he is just the consequences of peoples actions. His code is to follow fate, to follow the chances. He can't be an evil person because he isn't a person, rather he is just a tool of fate
Bruh he is definitely evil.
@@blazer7731 "died of natural causes.... natural to the line of work they are in." This is from the sheriff when he was talking about the cartel people who got killed. Anton isn't sadistic, he doesn't torture or kill for the sake of killing. He is a moving piece like animals in nature.
@@vaughnordakowski8774 true but he is evil none the less. He thinks he has the right to take lives as he pleases/chooses when in reality, no one does.
@@blazer7731 are soldiers or warriors evil? Obviously those two things deserve more respect than a cartel hit man but this movie strips things down to the bones. From his perspective, he is doing his job as efficiently as possible
@@blazer7731 in his mind fate chooses, so much that he was appalled when the wife refused his coin toss and forced him to make a decision for himself
I like when he goes through the hotel room, he opens the drawers from the bottom first. So he doesnt have to waste time closing them. creepy
Very true methodically.
Anton Chigurh is the most mysteriously exciting movie villain I have ever seen. Especially thanks to Javier Bardem’s monumental performance.
Leath Hedger’s Seriouser
@@ash_11117 "Why... ssso... ssseriousss?"
Moss is Chigurh, the story is told on behalf of a cop and it is his imagination that draws Chigurh so scary and elusive.
he’s basically portrayed as death
I feel that this video could have been so much more in depth. This character is so monumentally symbolic and existential. Not to be too critical, I enjoyed the video very much.
The reason he wanted to kill the gas station clerk was because the man made the mistake of asking where Anton was coming from. You see it again in the scene with the chicken farmer: the moment he's asked where hes going is when Anton smiles and his demeanor changes a bit
Anton Chigurh sleeps with the light on because the dark is afraid of him.
You missed a crucial character moment from the book. He explains that he allowed the deputy to arrest him and killed the deputy “just to see if I could.” He says that he did it just so he could see if, through sheer willpower, he could escape a situation in which he is powerless. He also expresses that he recognizes that this was a reckless decision on his part. Regret seems to be the wrong word, but he notes more or less that it was a lapse in judgement.
So he says
I just responded to a comment about the rage in that scene. I said more or less, when I try the look on his face on, the wide-open eyes, and the mouth, I feel like I have gone from being powerless, to being the one in power. Very interesting! What an amazing actor.
I guess what struck me was the word choice, and focus on power/powerless;
If the book depicts him a character with regrets in lapse of in judgment when he kills the deputy, wouldn’t that contradict him being labeled a sociopath... By him reflecting on decisions he made that could have derailed the mission, shows he was merely evaluating how not staying focus could have jeopardized everything (being wanted for killing a cop drama is worse than “random” killing).
@@regisnyder yeah, I’m not contending that this contradicts any of the analysis, but this moment of introspection would be useful in the diagnosis.
Chigurh scared the hell out of me. I had this uncomfortable feeling of dread everytime he interacted with another character whether were "good or bad."
I always believed the ambiguity around Anton’s character was a slight implication of some supernatural aura around him, or, that he was a walking embodiment of Death
The thing about Anton is he ALMOST represents some sort of embodiment of Satan. He sticks to his word, he's sadistic and his violence is unjustifiable. In the book, Sheriff Bell says that he thinks Satan has to exist out there because it's the only thing that can explain the pure evil he sees.
However, he isn't. He's just as susceptible to fate as his victims, as seen when he gets in the car crash. At the end of the novel, someone asks Sheriff Bell if Anton is "a ghost." But he tells him that he's just a man, and that makes him even worse.
reminds me of the cartel twins in breaking bad, an almost supernatural force
I think that everything about Anton is genius. From the hair showing that he doesn’t care about societal standards and fitting in, to his clothes not matching the climate of where he is. He is the perfect portrayal of a psychopath in film.
Those things make one a psychopath?
@@Goyaboyayoga More like traits that work to suspend your disbelief that he fits the profile of a psychopath.
Oddly enough, a survey was give to psychologists to vote on the best representations of a psychopath in film, and Anton Chigurh was voted number one
What do you mean his face?
Chigurh played the coin toss with the gas station clerk because the clerk remarked on the license plate of the stolen car Anton was driving. "Y'all get any rain that way?"
"Which way is that?"
"License plate says you're from Dallas"
The clerk had info about Chigurh's path. Chigurh saw it as a liability, but acknowledged the random chance that brought the two together. "This coin got here the same way I did" the coin toss was the real physical, immediate manifestation of the clerk's life to Anton.
Circumstances and the lack of individual choices (I married into it) brought the clerk to that store, for Anton to be at that store on that day, to toss the coin. (You've been putting it up your while life) is Chigurh's way of saying, you let fate and circumstance push you into this place where fate and circumstance also placed me. Just like the random chance of the coin toss will the clerk's life be resolved by the outcome of the coin toss.
Basically, Chigurh was saying, "if you had thought for yourself and made some of your OWN decisions, instead of letting "fate" push you around, you might not be here right now, with me, wondering if you'll die based on a coin toss."
god tier comment
Others have pointed this out as well and it’s something I totally missed so thank you for pointing it out!
To add to this excellent analysis: I think Anton feels that everyone should earn their place in this world. Is the gas station clerk noticing the license plate a symptom of someone with too little to do not minding their own business, or is it someone doing their job and making their customers feel welcome by making smalltalk? Anton doesn't know, but the coin does...
This is honestly the best comment I have read. Bravo
If you like that scene, watch this just for fun. Its Kevin James. I think its pretty good. czcams.com/video/ANlMM0HQxC0/video.html
Loving your channel. It brings more light to a character and truly makes them more interesting 💙
I’ve always interpreted Cigurgh to be symbol of Death. His doesn’t judge nor target any particular people. Being a Cartel member or Agent means choosing the prospect of death. Going in his way seals your fate. To be near Anton is to play with death. Anyone near him gambles on their life wether they know it or not. He is simply an impartial judgeless tool as he stated aswell. The coin brings him to some people, and people will have to choose between life and death. Non compliance is the same as choosing death.
Atleast thats how I see it.
I just gave my 70 yr old father my copy of the novel and he can't stop raving about it. "They should make a movie about this." he said 😆 to which I replied... they did. Looks like I'll be lending him that copy too. He's completely hooked on Cormac now. Blood Meridian will be next on his list & he's in for a treat in dealing with The Judge.
Hah, I gave The Road to my 76 year old grandmother and she really enjoyed it. I lent her Blood Meridian after that and to my shock she was pretty into it as well.
You never know, age doesn’t always really quantify taste in media.
@@BigDaddyZakk420 The film they made after The Road really disappointed me. I feel like there were some major threads they didn't lean into as hard as should have.
Blood Meridian has been attempted to develop into a film a few times. One day, someone will figure a way to get it done. Cormac is a great writer. Undervalued in my humble esteem.
I'd love to see an episode in this series on The Judge. That is one helluva book.
@Pedro Abreu thanks for the suggestion. I totally forgot about that film
Anton, Heath Ledger's Joker, and Norman Stansfield are the best villain performances I've seen to date
I would also add Alonzo Harris and Gus Fring.
@@thechild7355 all Denzel Washington characters are in a league of their own, and I haven't finished watching Breaking Bad
Hans Landa ( nglorious Basterds). Count Orlok (Nosferatu, the 1924 version). Uncle Pete (Lost Highway). Lucifer (Constantine).
Tbh, the only movie villain to make it into my dreams was Uncle Pete. That guy gives me the creeps.
Good list, I’d add frank booth
What about Nightcrawler?
3:35 that man on the left is my dad Boots Southerland! He was also in Yellowstone season 3, The One, Seraphim Falls, The Troublemakers (1994), and more!
He is one of the scariest movie villians ever!! The scene with the coin & "call it!". Hair on back of my neck stood up😳 His staring & lightless eyes were very cold to me.
As he was choking the deputy it appears he was grimacing in pain from the cuffs cutting and bruising his wrists.
That look on his face with a classic psychopathic hate smile
...i disagree..that was the last thing on his mind as he choked the guy...a guy like Chigurh wouldn't even notice the pain the cuffs would inflict on him as he was focused only at the task at hand , and doing what he had to do to escape
then he doesnt grimace in pain stitcing his own leg
I'm pretty sure this guy doesn't know pleasure from pain, just the end result is all that matters to him.
It is pure determination to do what he needs to do. His face shows that he is putting every fibre of his being into strangling this man, similar to how martial artists let out a cry (kiai) when attacking. Afterwards, he is seen calmly washing his hands with extremely painful looking gashes on his wrists - he does not flinch then.
Great observations. Anton's a very eerie villain, even his smile doesn't seem human.
You mention that Anton would kill a little girl if she got in his way, but he did pay off those boys on the bikes who saw him. I wonder if he considers children easy to intimidate into silence and therefore doesn't see the necessity of killing them.
i saw that scene in a different light. notice how he almost forced the kid to take the money, even if the kid didn’t want to take it. his ideology, to me, is that nothing in life is free not even information, as seen in the first coin toss scene.
I'm pretty sure he didn't kill them because he was very badly injured
Chigurh is a human organism, like any other human organism. There was a time when he was a kid. There was a time before he had killed. Something in the encounter with these boys, I think, awakened such memories. I've stated elsewhere that it felt like he had absorbed a little of their innocence and generosity, and left them with a seed of his own evil. It's the first real manifestation of humanity we see in him... and probably summoned by his imminent mortality. For he cannot set a compound fracture on his own. Death -- a swift one from shock, or a lingering one from gangrene -- is likely. The other alternatives -- crippling, and subsequent powerlessness, or capture, and the eventual weight of the law -- are also forms of death. I'd call suicide his most likely way out.
He had a bone sticking out of his arm, I don't think he could've killed them even if he tried
@@stairwaytoheaven8 how does that relate to being a Psychopath?. And Anton probably doesn't care about kids or animals. An earlier scene he tried to shoot a bird for no reason. The only reason he didn't kill those boys at the end is because of his injuries
Anton is definitely a proud denizen of the uncanny valley.
"Proud"
Regarding the gas station scene, Chigurgh's demeanour changed when the old man recognised where he came from (until that point, Chigurgh just wanted to pay for his fuel and snack). My opinion is that Chigurgh couldn't decide if that was reason enough to kill the old man, so he left if to fate and let the coin decide. Chigurgh thinks himself some kind of agent of destiny, which he kind of explains to Carla Jean in the book before he kills her. Basically, he believes you cannot escape fate - and a coin toss is a good a way as any to quicken the process. Just my opinion.
"His hair really doesn't match his face."
Maybe that's the reason why he kills people. He kept being judged. Jk.
You kid (joke) but a bullied kid can and has shot up an entire cinema.
@@stevendalloesingh1214 Has somebody told me many years ago
"Words have power. " living where I live is a huge advice
@John Barber Yessir!!
His dad was an evil barber who traumatized his son by cutting his hair like that for his entire childhood.
I pity the fool who makes fun of another man's hair choices. -Mr. T
How to make an horrifying and interesting character both in a book and a movie without making a bloody mess.
Very well said. If you have read the other books by Cormac McCarthy you know how well he can "Show" some pretty extreme violence without any of the "Hollywood" excess, which makes it closer to reality.
Thank you @@shambles6795 , now I know with which books i can have a fireside read
Not much interesting about him. He’s a deadpan, emotionless, unstoppable contract killer. It’s the most cliche & overused character in Hollywood.
Andrew Kennedy-Reagan But he feels strangely like a real person, due mainly to his idiosyncrasies. That makes all the difference in a story like this. Much more unsettling a figure.
@@andrewkennedy-reagan3289 your sister is the most overused character in Hollywood.
When Anton strangles the cop, he holds his breath the entire time. You could say that it was to add pressure to the choke but to me he was trying to get in the head of his victim, to semi experience what he (the cop) was going through. Little detail that I always found interesting.
Anton kind of reminds me of Angle Eyes. "You know me. When I get paid, I always see the job through".
I think the game with the old man was deeper. This man in Anton’s mind was no man at all, just someone who played it safe. Making him choose his own fate was a right of passage in a weird way, it was only gambling he’d ever done and he won. I could be totally off base but it’s favorite scene either way.
The old man stuck his nose into Anton’s business when he commented on his license plates. To Anton, that’s poor etiquette and rude. In addition, once he questions the old man and he begins to ramble Anton sees this as an individual who has no self purpose and to Anton that is failure in embracing life.
So Anton was able to do with a coin what it took John Kramer a whole warehouse of equipment to attempt. ;)
After asking the red-headed woman 3 times for Lewellyn’s info, he lets her live because he admired her will to stand firm on her word that she couldn’t give out that information.
He allowed her to live because there was someone in the bathroom. The book and the movie both highlight Chigurh's reaction to the flushing of the toilet. Fate had simply placed the Desert Aire manager beyond his reach. He isn't a man with much regard for other peoples' convictions or principles and openly derides them when he asks Wells the use of the rule that had brought him to their final confrontation. In the book, he also acknowledges to Wells the slaying of the deputy as something unnecessary, vain, and foolish, the result of a circumstance he instigated by his own will instead of a necessity thrust upon him by the mandate of fate. This is the only time he takes responsibility for a murder because it is the only time he accepts that he made a choice.
From the book, when he meets and kills Carla Jean:
_"You're asking that I make myself vulnerable and that I can never do. I
have only one way to live. It doesn't allow for special cases. A coin toss perhaps. In this case to small purpose. Most people dont believe that there can be such a person. You can see what a problem that must be for them. How to prevail over that which you refuse to acknowledge the existence of. Do you understand? When I came into your life your life was over. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is the end. You can say that things could have turned out differently. That they could have been some other way. But what does that mean? They are not some other way. They are this way. You're asking that I second say the world."_
@@JNDeaux a beautiful read! What a well wrote out comment! Bravo!
the movie isn't the book though they left those questions intentionally for the fun of it
@@JNDeaux k
I always interpreted that scene as her being the one person who geniunely wasn't afraid of him and stood her ground, and he respected that. I've never read the book, but movies never follow books exactly. This is for good a good reason. They're different mediums for story telling and don't always translate very well. That and creative changes.
“The author of the book” bro at least say his name. The Coens get so much credit for this movie and the book is basically a screen play and even the Coens admit they basically wrote the screenplay scene for scene from the book. Give Cormac McCarthy his due
RIP Cormac McCarthy.
I think he 100% killed the accountant. "Do you see me" was him being sarcastic. Of course he saw him so he had to kill him
Barber:"So, what'll it be?"
Chigurh: "Everything."
Barber: "What. ..what do you mean?"
Chigurh: "Long in the short places, short in the long places. It should be from both the future and the past. Something a child would do to a doll"
I laughed so hard
family guy?
Great name man. Keep on dunking it
Laugh n me guts out .. what a fantastic name Duncan Mac.
Is that from the book ? I can't find those words in the movie.
When you see this guy act,you wonder where the hell is he from. Best performance by a crazy killer I’d ever seen.
Indeed
Everyone should watch Brad Dourif as the Gemini Killer in the Exorcist pt.3, he is one of my all time favorite actors. Always playing bad guys and doing so excellently.
@@43captrexkramer it’s crazy because he’s also the voice of Chucky. Dude’s just a talented actor.
No Country for Old Men is truly one of the last great Hollywood epics before all they cared about were superhero films and subpar reboots.
5:25 i'm pretty sure one of anton's principals is that he feels people should work for
the position they get in and that they shouldn't be placed there without effort
there's also a lot of stuff relating to the theme of chance and randomness (like the coin toss stuff or the fact moss found all that money)
6:15 you see Anton check the closet and notice someone could hide in here. He then checks the width of the wall to see if a shot will penetrate it. When he goes into the motel room and kills those men, he fired a shot through just incase. He's so methodical with a lot of what he does.
I noticed that almost got him killed by that guy in the bathroom just his timing was off
Methodical "Yes"
I believe he killed the accountant. When he asks "do you see me?" It's used in the same way as one would ask "is the sky blue?" His question is an answer.
I agree
You're both wrong, the accountant lived because the accountant gave the last answer the best answer to be able to live! Anton says do you see me? The accountant says " I didnt see anything" . thats how you secure your life again most criminals so they can let you go! Accountant was lucky for saying the right word!
@@o2ksumbody I don't think Anton is fond of liars
He asked “is the sky blue” and the accountant said “I never looked at it”... making it impossible for Anton to act. Even if the account had looked at the sky, Anton’s question is implying that the accountant reached a conclusion regarding the color of the sky. Like Anton the accountant doesn’t care for the actual color, he understands that the sky exists without any judgment anyways, with or without him
The accountant survives in the book i believe
The best part of this character is that voice. One of the best voices I’ve ever heard.
I don't watch many movies and hardly every watch one more than once, but this is one that's worth watching multiple times.