Every now and then, a celebrity invited into the Criterion Closet plugs one of their own movies. And while that might sound a bit tacky, they’re usually spot on in their assessment (and hey, it’s probably in the Criterion Collection for a reason). We can now add Josh Brolin to the list, who recently visited the Closet and spotted one on a lower shelf: No Country for Old Men, which also happens to be the only film of his in the Collection.
Brolin’s video in the Criterion Closet is an expectedly strong one, but the highlight is undoubtedly his memories of making No Country for Old Men. After admitting he hasn’t watched it in a while, he called filming No Country for Old Men “one of the greatest experiences of my life because we had fun. I don’t know if Javier [Bardem] had fun. I had fun and I made Javier have fun. And it started my friendships with both Joel and Ethan Coen…Making the movie, we thought, ‘Oh this is fun. A few people will see this movie, it’s a little movie.’ And then when I saw the movie – I remember I was with my son, Trevor, when I saw the movie. And we didn’t talk for 20 minutes after the movie, which I don’t know if that’s happened before or since. Objectively saying that’s how you want to be affected by a film. You want to be slapped quiet. And that’s what No Country for Old Men did for me as a film lover.”
Josh Brolin isn’t the only one who had such an experience, as that sort of film – with that sort of ending, especially – is one that requires a lot of contemplation. Truly, the ending has a lot to chew on, and I personally remember having little say to but so much to think when I left the theater back in 2007.
No Country for Old Men – which is generally considered one of the best films of the century so far – would end up nabbing four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director(s), Best Supporting Actor for Bardem, and Best Adapted Screenplay. As far as superlatives go, the Coens became the second duo to win Best Director, while they also become the second-ever siblings to win in the category following Casablanca’s Philip and Julis Epstein.
Other than No Country for Old Men, Josh Brolin also picked Mikey and Nicky with Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic (nothing father James has a role), David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Alex Cox’s Repo Man and Sid & Nancy, and Gus Vant Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy.
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