Negotiations With Death | What Makes Anton Chigurh So Terrifying

the most you ever lost on a coin toss sir the most you ever lost according to us I don't know I couldn't say this is Anton chigur with an untraceable name no family and no home shigor is an omnipresent Psychopathic killer he's an Unstoppable Force who doesn't abide by the same moral code as the rest of the world everything he does is very intentional so he doesn't kill unless necessary unfortunately for those who have the grave Misfortune of meeting him he deems it necessary quite often how do we bring this symbolic idea of violence into a man's behavior and the first thing they brought is this insane haircut and since he was my hurt I wasn't very happy because I have to live without her for three months but I thought it helped it helped me tremendously to understand this kind of methodical almost mathematical way of approaching his goals and his duty while his true motives are never explained his psychopathy is Guided by strict obedience to a distorted moral ideology this overarching ideology allows him to feel Justified and even satisfied in killing those who fall short of his standards speaking of falling short in this scene we find two opposing individuals colliding in a game of chance through a coin toss sugar on one side and a store clerk on the other this oblivious man doesn't realize it but the fate of his life has slipped completely out of his hands but it's not in shigor's hands anymore either it was handed over to chance but let's rewind No Country For Old Man was released in 2007 as an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's book of the same name in this film the Coen Brothers crafted one of the most formidable and Sinister antagonists in cinema his name is Anton chigur the plot follows the path of an honest War veteran Llewellyn Moss after he stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong in the Texan Plains his life is set on a new trajectory when he returns home with a case of cash to the tune of 2.4 million dollars unfortunately for Moss people don't simply forget about two mil masa's intentions are pure as he wants to make a better life for himself and his dearly loved wife Carla Jean shigora picks up Moss's Trail catapulting the two men into a life or death game of cat and mouse but Willow and Moss's resourcefulness and quick wit be enough to keep Shigeru at Bay or will his negotiation with death prove unsuccessful over the course of Sugar's violent pursuance Moss is far from the only ill-fated individual to encounter the psychopathic killer in the first scene of the film shigor gets arrested and taken to the police station while the officer is distracted by the phone shigor slowly approaches and strangles him to death with his handcuffs it's a brutal scene and Anton's reaction when the cop finally goes limp is chilling it's almost as if a wave of satisfaction is washed over him playing over the scene is the sound of a train this audibly represents the unrelenting power and Unstoppable momentum of sugar as a killer the scene is necessary in its duration and savagery to set the framework of Sugar's abilities both physically and mentally it establishes his comfort with taking another's life and his confidence in succeeding he's clearly well practiced especially to Warrant murdering an officer in broad daylight in the station where anyone could see shortly after Shigeru uses his weapon of choice a captive bolt gun to kill a civilian and commandeer his vehicle the captive bolt gun is commonly used to stun cattle before they're slaughtered this reveals Sugar's disregard for human life as he mercilessly kills people like animals with those two scenes the movie has established just how dangerous shigora is which leads us to a certain type of sinister interaction the negotiation [Music] I was always thinking that there was a superior voice and order that was making a decision through me Sugar's motives are not explicitly defined and he remains mysterious for that reason but we do know that this greater voice he abides by is what instructs his actions and he does not deviate from it to the outside world he is completely insane but in his own mind sugar is Justified in a way he feels like he's purging the world of its wrongs there are things that must be done in terms of create a better world he will follow his own ethics no matter what and he will do it against his own will I guess that's the crazy part like if something Beyond his control or over him is telling him how to act in these circumstances sugar places the victim's fate in the hands of chance letting a coin decide whether someone lives or dies is a way that he restrains the onslaught of death the responsibility of deciding is taken out of Sugar's hands and he simply enacts Fates bidding trigor invites the victim into the decision by requiring them to call the coin this is where the negotiation begins instead of unrestrained murder questions are exchanged motives are uncovered and true feelings are revealed this invitation for the other party to participate can vary in its sincerity as you'll see in a future example so now that we have a better understanding of who sugar is and how he operates let's go back to the Texaco what's the most you ever lost on a coin toss sir the most you ever lost I don't know I couldn't say call it calling that's for a whole lot just call it I didn't put nothing up yes you're dead you've been putting it up your whole life you just didn't know it you know what date is on this coin 1958. It's been traveling 22 years to get here and now he's here and he'd see their heads or tails and you have to say call it well look I need to know what I stand to win everything how's that you just tend to win everything call it all right heads in well done this coin toss scene with a store owner is the most famous example of sugar extending an offer on the life of a man what would have been a harmless interaction rapidly becomes Grim as the clerk makes one fatal mistake possibly the biggest mistake the man has ever made in his life was asking shigur how the weather was any rain up here why what way would that be this inquiry represents a violation of his anonymity and immediately shifts the tone of the conversation the clerk continues to over explain in his responses and digs an increasingly deeper hole for himself the moment that handed his life over to sugar was his admittance to marrying into his current way of life you're married into it we lived in Temple Texas for many years raised a family there in Temple we'd come out here about four years ago you're married into a that's the way you want to put it all right I don't have somewhere to put it that's the way it is to Sugar the life this man chose for himself is a violation of the way people should live and he is therefore justified in eliminating him there are things that must be done in terms of create a better world which he thinks he's a better world and in this case it's a world where people don't marry into businesses they own or they earn their own businesses so when he says that he he was his father's shop he says so you marry into it that is a change it's like wow that's not good to add to the tension of this scene sugar picks up a wrapper and places it on the counter the camera holds on the wrapper as it slowly crinkles and expands this release of tension is juxtaposed with the verbal exchange which remains very tense thus increasing the viewer's anxiety and discomfort while the rapper is visually conveying a release the reality is much the opposite as the conversation progresses a faint music track begins playing the music increasingly builds the tension as the man comes closer and closer to calling the coin naturally the man asks sugar what he stands to win should go responds you just tend to win everything call it in a way when facing sugar you're already assumed dead because only from the position of complete non-existence can you stand to gain everything in this way Shigeru is characterized as the messenger of death itself this perspective of standing to gain everything is something that can be applied to our own lives every situation whether it be conflict or opportunity can change the trajectory of Our Lives how we react decides whether we gain or lose but at that moment we stand to win everything tension is at its peak when the two men slowly look down and shigur takes his hand off the coin heads suddenly the Music Stops and the pacing shifts lines are delivered with less air between them and Sugar's demeanor becomes slightly more amiable the store owner didn't anticipate anything unusual would occur that day yet he came out on the other side gaining his whole life sugar instructs the clerk to keep the coins separate from the other quarters don't put in your pocket sir don't put it in your pot and it's your lugged water where you want me to put it anywhere not in your pocket what will be mixing with the others and becoming just a kind which it is sugar wants him to remember the coin as a trophy signifying the moment when chance overruled death foreign yes nobody accounting are you going to shoot me that depends do you see me the next instance of negotiation comes with the accountant sugar vigorously enters the room and shoots the man at the desk with a shotgun with his back turns he begins questioning the accountant the accountant glances at the door and confirms that there's no possibility of Escape he's trapped and he knows it all the while sugar has been staring at the man bleeding out on the ground the site that any sane person would find incredibly disturbing the tension builds through the silence after each line the scene carries its own weight and doesn't need music to instill a feeling of Terror the accountant asks if sugar is going to shoot him finally he turns around and the eye contact alone causes the accountant to stagger responds with another question that depends do you see me now obviously this scene is much different from the previous coin toss scene but I find it just as chilling the scene Cuts before anyone says a word by this point the viewer is acutely aware of who sugar is and his infamy leads them to the only possible inference of the accountant's fate the scene highlights how important it is for Shigeru to remain unknown and undefined the accountant feasibly had not seen his face yet because Sugar's back was turned to him but all odds of survival are thrown out the window when chigur turns around with this turn he's essentially licking the envelope the accountant comes face to face with death and unlike the store clerk he knows his fate the faint smile sugar puts on when he poses the question and a slight inflection of his voice conveys a chilling sarcasm sure to terrify anyone on the receiving end now this scene is no coin toss and chance plays no part in its proceeding however I'm including it to highlight Sugar's insane rationality and terrifying screen presence once again he acts as the messenger of death This Time extending a rhetorical question instead of a coin toss both men know that the account can never be set free after what he's just witnessed towards the end of the film shigo returns to the coin toss this time with Carla Jean llewellyn's wife no but I gave my word he gave your word your husband had the opportunity to save you instead he used you to try to save himself you don't have to do this people always say the same thing what did I say you don't have to do this okay this is the best I can do God oh no she was crazy when I saw you sitting there no I ain't gonna call it call it the coin don't have no say it's just you I got here the same way that coined it probably Jean takes a seat the light on her face contrasted with shigur sitting in the Darkness sugar is there to uphold his end of the deal with her husband and kill her in response to her opposition shigor invites Carla jean into the deciding process of her fate thus opening negotiation sparing her life would require him to defy his moral code by going back on his word so instead he decides to flip a coin and let chance decide her fate as he makes this decision sugar lands out a sigh as if you just begrudgingly lowered the price of an item he's selling this really is the best he can offer it should be noted that he always requires the victim to call the coin this way he completely removes himself from the equation he relegates his position to the enactor of Chance's bidding Carla Jean says that he doesn't have to do this sugar responds that people always say the same thing he's almost annoyed or confused as to why people respond the way they do this point in the conversation emphasizes two things first it further distances sugar from Humanity as he positions himself outside the collective human nature that begs for Mercy when facing death second it emphasizes his Devotion to his moral obligations in his mind it's senseless and lacking dignity for someone to plead for Mercy after someone's word has been given from his perspective Llewellyn failed to uphold his end of the deal so it naturally follows that Carla Gene will be killed it's non-negotiable despite this as the mediator of death itself he decides to flip a coin Carla Jean says that the coin has no say in it in a way she's right it's completely up to Shigeru whether she lives or dies we're never told if Carla Jean called it or what happened in the aftermath but the viewer two important Clues tell us that Carla Jean was killed the first and most obvious tip-off is when Anton checks the bottoms of his boots when leaving her house this calls back to shigeru's interaction with Carson and you know what's gonna happen now you should admit your situation you go to hell um [Music] do you know where I'm going yeah I know where you're going all right the second nod is the sound that plays at the end of the scene in a Jacob the sound of the two bikes plays over his face which is reminiscent of the train when he killed the cop it's a subtle reminder that Shigeru can never be restrained or stopped there's a theme that's repeated in this scene that was also found in the gas station confrontation it's the idea of the coin's journey trigger says that he got to this position the same way the coin did by Sugar admitting that his and the coins Journey are one in the same the coin can be viewed as a continuation of himself it plays the same role in deciding when death should be dealt and when it should be restrained the coin decides through chance and sugar decides there is dark moral code when the store owner called heads he was tails and whatever Carla Jean called sugar was waiting on the other side the last scene which I wasn't initially planning on discussing takes place immediately after the murder of Carla Jean [Music] are you all right you got a bone sticking out your arm what did you take for the shirt hell mister I give you my shirt I'm tired of this woman tell you let's tell you oh hell Mister okay I don't mind helping someone out it's a lot of money take it out you didn't see me I was already gone yes sir as trigorous fits on the curb he pays one of the kids on the bikes for his shirt here two negotiations take place most obviously is the tangible exchange of money for a shirt the kid accepts the money and sells his shirt to be used as a sling the second is an unspoken negotiation on their lives had the boy refused his fate may have turned out much differently despite being seen by both boys shigor spares their lives and walks away is the first instance in which shigur chooses not to kill where the viewer expects he would have his moral code allowed the boys to be spared I've heard many people refer to sugar as death incarnate or death itself how I see it he more closely resembles the mediator between death and its victims an unbridled Rampage of death would look much different from the actions of sugar there would be no negotiation no option of chance and no ability to blend in with Society death must be restrained to remain effective in secrecy in no way am I advocating for a merciful side of shigur he's anything but merciful but the Twisted Whispers in his mind are far more complex than unbridled murder how can a villain be interesting if their motives are completely understood sugar would cease to be terrifying if we knew that in every circumstance he would just kill the possibility of his sparing certain people conjoined with his repertoire of merciless brutality makes Anton shigur one of the most terrifying antagonists in cinema he is no Terminator a piece of humanity remains inside him but if you recognize him at some level as being human and human yeah and and and that was the again an interesting one I think that Javier had to walk Josh Brolin aptly pinpointed the biggest contributor to No Country For Old Man's success they don't expect their movies to be you know fully accessible there's no pandering going on there's no pandering going on with Cormac there's no pandering going on with the cohens and they'd never say that I mean they would never they don't talk about themselves at all cinema at its best is not weighed down by having to Pander to audiences Thanos is a villain who draws many similarities to Anton shigur he's ironically also played by Josh Brolin yet Marvel Studios was limited in their ability to deliver the character to his fullest potential because they had to Pander to such a large audience Thanos is an extremely minute and offensive example of this broader issue in modern Cinema the Coen Brothers masterfully adapted McCarthy's book into a story that doesn't seek validation from the audience films that are crafted purely for the sake of telling good stories will stand the test of time as the greatest movies ever made Javier bardem's portrayal of Anton chigur acting as the mediator of death paired with the unparalleled screenplay and direction of the Coen Brothers resulted in the creation of the most terrifying villain of all time foreign [Music] No Country for Old Men now on DVD

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Length: 21min 29sec (1289 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 23 2022