« Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men

Joel and Ethan Coen’s take on No Country for Old Men can be seen as even darker and more pessimistic than the text it stems from. Addressing more directly two of their favorite themes, namely existential misplacement and the end of heroism, they bring a certain skepticism to their film. As a philoso...

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Main Author: Martin Berny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses universitaires de Rennes 2023-01-01
Series:Revue LISA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/15064
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author Martin Berny
author_facet Martin Berny
author_sort Martin Berny
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description Joel and Ethan Coen’s take on No Country for Old Men can be seen as even darker and more pessimistic than the text it stems from. Addressing more directly two of their favorite themes, namely existential misplacement and the end of heroism, they bring a certain skepticism to their film. As a philosophical step orchestrated by the Coens, what seems to be missing or elided from the novel by Cormac McCarthy elicits a tumble into chaos. This article will demonstrate that this film adaptation makes room for a negative space that brings out a form of spiritual emptiness already found in McCarthy’s book. We will see that more specifically through recurring motifs in the Coens’ canon and threshold images deployed throughout the film, which allow the audience to engage and provide a meaning to the work that remains ambiguous and open to interpretation.
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spelling doaj-art-de33d5c3ddbd411887fb660eaf661df42025-01-06T09:03:05ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532023-01-012110.4000/lisa.15064« Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old MenMartin BernyJoel and Ethan Coen’s take on No Country for Old Men can be seen as even darker and more pessimistic than the text it stems from. Addressing more directly two of their favorite themes, namely existential misplacement and the end of heroism, they bring a certain skepticism to their film. As a philosophical step orchestrated by the Coens, what seems to be missing or elided from the novel by Cormac McCarthy elicits a tumble into chaos. This article will demonstrate that this film adaptation makes room for a negative space that brings out a form of spiritual emptiness already found in McCarthy’s book. We will see that more specifically through recurring motifs in the Coens’ canon and threshold images deployed throughout the film, which allow the audience to engage and provide a meaning to the work that remains ambiguous and open to interpretation.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/15064heroismCoen EthanCoen JoelMcCarthy Cormacfilm adaptationskepticism
spellingShingle Martin Berny
« Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
Revue LISA
heroism
Coen Ethan
Coen Joel
McCarthy Cormac
film adaptation
skepticism
title « Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
title_full « Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
title_fullStr « Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
title_full_unstemmed « Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
title_short « Ever step you take is forever » : fin de l’héroïsme et vacuité spirituelle dans No Country for Old Men
title_sort ever step you take is forever fin de l heroisme et vacuite spirituelle dans no country for old men
topic heroism
Coen Ethan
Coen Joel
McCarthy Cormac
film adaptation
skepticism
url https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/15064
work_keys_str_mv AT martinberny everstepyoutakeisforeverfindelheroismeetvacuitespirituelledansnocountryforoldmen