GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “No Country For Old Men” — Characters

This week we will be analyzing the screenplay for the 2007 movie No Country For Old Men [screenplay by Joe Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy]. It won an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay.

You can download the November 28, 2005 draft of the script here.

Here is a scene from the movie:

Today we discuss the script’s characters. Here is a list of most of them:

Ed Tom Bell

Anton Chigurh

Llewelyn Moss

Carson Wells

Carla Jean Moss

Wendell

Loretta Bell

Here’s something interesting to play around with: Imagine this story with Moss as the Protagonist, then Chigurh as the Protagonist, and finally Bell as the Protagonist. The story universe takes on an entirely different slant depending upon through whose perspective you look at it. Different goals, different Nemeses, different psychological journeys.

BBC Coen brothers documentary, Part 3:

We will have a live Tweet-Cast tonight at 8PM Pacific. You are invited to get your DVD or Netflix set to play the movie at precisely 8PM, then join professional screenwriters Tom Benedek [@TomBenedek], F. Scott Frazier [@ScreenWritten], John Gary [@johngary], and myself on Twitter for live commentary. This interactive approach to analyzing a movie in real-time is a lot of fun and has led to some great insights into the films we have reviewed. Hashtag: #NCFOM.

For Day 1 of our analysis, go here.

For Day 2 on structure, go here.

See you in comments to discuss the characters in No Country For Old Men.

NOTE: THE USE OF THE SCREENPLAY IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

Comment Archive