'No country for old men' - scene analysis

This is a very tense scene felt by the characters and audience. It's very uncomfortable to watch with its uneasy atmosphere and strange situation.

The scene opens with a extreme wide shot of the location. A desolate, uncertain, empty and open place that combines fear with the unknown. It's situated in a desert like place, all you can see in the right side bottom corner of the shot is the small garage with one car, a few dead trees, and a sign that is gently making a screeching noise, with the word 'texaco' written on it. I think that they have put dead trees in the shot to symbolise the emptiness of the place, to scare people a little i guess. The colors are very neutral, nothing dramatic, very boring and bland. A little bit sepia toned. You can hear a engine in the background, maybe a plane, and then the squeaking sign. I think these are noises making it feel even emptier than it looks, its not alive.

The shot lasts for about 5 seconds and then switches to inside the garage, its going from a light open space to a dark, contained small inside. This is a real contrast in such a snappy shot. The first sound i hear is slow moving footprints. Creating a dramatic atmosphere in the small space. There is a man behind the desk, looking down. Behind him is a small window letting in light. Kind of an escape route. About the window are some parts for cars or something, that are in the shape of loops. Right near his head, this is done on purpose to make the character seem more vulnerable and unsafe. It symbolises being hung/hanging.

After three seconds the first piece of speech is said. Simple small talk, and no eye contact between the two characters. The sound of his voice almost fills the space with its depth and tone. Staying on one level, no emotion shown in his speech. The man behind the counters voice is a little more emotive and not as deep or fierce. They finally make eye contact after 18 seconds of speech. This is due to the fact of the conversation taking a turn and the customer almost takes charge of it, asking a question. It turns to a over the shoulder shot from the man behind the desk. The over the sholder shot from the character who seems to be the victim is used to make the bad guy seem bigger, more intimidating and to incinuate power across the scene.

You get an idea of the characters, the man behind the till wears light, sensible clothing. Typical of citizens around the area. The customer wears all black, and a leather jacket, supplying us with a 'bad boy' image of him. Light also gives us more information into the characters, it is used well but simply. When the second character enters the light seems to become darker, and the man behind the counter has a window behind him.. light is a way of showing the good guy i think. It represents who's the threat and who's the victim in the scene. I also notice that behind the shopkeeper, who i believe from the start is the obvious target/victim is a product containing a bright yellow smiley face. I think this is to contrast the issue of insecurity and almost mock the situation in hand. When its such a gripping scene the yellow smiley face is almost out of place and does attract the eye because of this.

Little sounds make the whole scene more uptight and filled with tension. The uncrumbleing of the wrapper is a key part for the dangerous stares and intensity. There is silence with the voices and a close up shot of the wrapper, this is a good effect as its the centre of attention meaning nothing exciting is really taking place i guess. Also the chewing the man in black makes, as though its intimidating the other charcacter.

All of this tells us who is what to be honest. Its very clear right from the start. The person who is working at this garage in the middle of nowhere already seems under threat just from the location. His lightness around his charcater portrays goodness, a victim in his own space. It indicates that for the rest of the film somethig unpleasent will happen to this vunerable character. The tension is strong through the whole scene, I love the way the director has done this with such small ingreidients and ideas.