Score one for the book

Over the weekend I completed the title in my project to read the book, watch the movie and decide which one I like better for as many Best Picture winners as possible. After finishing No Country For Old Men, the written word has finally scored a decisive victory. (I'm giving credit to The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Silence of the Lambs.)

I loved the book, and I had high hopes for the movie, but I found that it just didn't bring the story to life the way I'd hoped. The directors, Joel and Ethan Coen, overall did an admirable job of staying faithful to Cormac McCarthy's text. Nevertheless, there were several omissions in the movie that bugged me. (NOTE: If you have not read/seen this title, you may wish to skip straight to "In other news.")

The opening chase scene is markedly compressed on celluloid as compared to paper. Part of what makes this scene so compelling in the novel is that it takes a long time to play out. It is impossible to create the same level of suspense in forty five seconds as in upwards of two dozen pages. Similarly, the cinematic rendition of the shootout at the hotel near the border omits the involvement of the Mexican drug runners. That scene was as much about establishing Chigurh's tactical bona fides as it was about the face-to-face confrontation with Moss, so this was not a minor oversight.

Lastly, the scene in which Chigurh returns the money to its owner is absent from the film (perhaps because the Coen brothers decided the Mexicans, and not Chigurh, should be the ones to kill Moss). Though it passes quickly in the book, it is perhaps the single most revealing moment in the story, for it explains Chigurh's involvement in the whole affair.

Under the weight of these questionable directorial decisions, the movie struggled to attain both the character depth and especially the suspense level that ran so high throughout the book. If I decide to revisit this story in the future, I'll head for the bookshelf. Current score: Books 1, Movies 3.

In other news, LeBron James has reneged on his promise to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest over the NBA's All-Star Weekend. With Dwight Howard also absent, defending champion Nate Robinson will have a much clearer path as he vies for an unprecedented third dunk title.