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Cake day: August 8th, 2024

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  • That’s the worst climax ever.

    A climax is supposed to be the turning point of the story, where the conflict is resolved.

    You’re saying the actual story is this old man who’s barely in the movie realizing that life sucks. And this point in the story, where literally nothing happens on screen, is the resolution of the conflict of him not exactly realizing that life sucks.

    Ugh. That’s not complex or deep. It’s oblique and pretentious.

    The definition of a climax is “the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.”

    That scene is obviously not intense or exciting. It’s only the most important part of this hidden plotline that’s even more off-screen than Llewelyn’s death since it only takes place in the mind of a character who’s barely in the movie, who has no agency and no part of the actual events shown on screen.

    It’s insufferable. The things you’re saying (which I was already aware of, to be clear) make the movie worse, not better.

    Even if I was super into this extremely boring theme, it doesn’t preclude the rest of the movie from containing a well-told story. And even if I went into the movie convinced that the Coens are geniuses and ready to forgive every other thing, voiceover exposition talking about symbolism-laden dreams is always going to be lazy writing.

    I won’t watch it again. I’m not trying to reevaluate it. I didn’t miss anything. I just don’t think it’s any good.


  • If it follows a standard story structure, then what was the climax?

    I think I’m very open-minded about movies. For example in the mid-aughts I dragged my girlfriend to like five different Coen Brothers movies before I decided that I really just don’t like them. For another example, I even like mainstream movies.

    Isn’t it possible I do understand it, and I just don’t like it? I’ve put enough thought into it. I see the themes. I don’t think those things outweigh the poor plot structure.

    You can say No Country has a coherent plot, but it doesn’t in the sense I’m talking about.




  • You really never rooted for Walt? You didn’t hope that he’d make the right decision? You didn’t find a little guilty pleasure in the satisfaction of a bad deed done well?

    If not, then why did you even watch the show?

    I’m fine with rooting for a bad guy. But no, I don’t enjoy stories that only have irredeemable characters that I can’t root for.

    Besides, Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which doesn’t usually go to main characters.

    But ok, even if Llewelyn wasn’t the main character, he’s the central character of the plot. His death resolves the main storyline in the movie, and it happens off screen. That’s not good storytelling.