Silence can be unsettling because it gives our minds too much room. That’s why, in thrillers, that pressing void becomes the tension. No Country for Old Men (2007), a pioneering film in many ways, however, uses silence differently: to cut sharply through your senses.Background music, another tool that filmmakers use, comes in handy to guide the audience’s emotions. But again, No Country for Old Men goes a different way. It (almost) removes music from the equation. Throughout the narrative, there are periods of total silence and stillness that weigh down on you with tension. And because the director duo decided to remove the safety net of music, these moments feel heavier. If you have watched the movie and you remember feeling like you were in rural, dusty Texas, this might be the reason.The silence, combined with no music, creates a jarring experience. The silence makes you listen harder, and, with no music to guide your emotional responses, when the sound lands, it lands like reality. Well, brutal reality, because brutality is the movie’s thematic center.The Film’s Barren Soundscape No Musical CuesThroughout the movie’s two-hour duration, there is not a trace of any tonal sound; no pervasive emotional cues hiding in the background score. If it’s your first time watching the movie, there is a high chance you will not even notice the absence of music. That’s because the narrative pulls you in and keeps you firmly held. This helps in two ways: it doesn’t divert your focus from the narrative,...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today