Movie Villain Monday: Anton Chigurh - No Country For Old Men (2007)
It’s Movie Villain Monday and this week’s movie villain was suggested in the comments on Facebook.
It’s Anton Chigurh from the brilliant Cohen Brother’s crime thriller, No Country For Old Men (2007) and the original novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.
Who is Anton Chigurh?
Chillingly portrayed by Javier Bardem (who won an Oscar, a Golden Globe AND a BAFTA for his performance), Anton Chigurh is possibly the most “villainous villain” featured so far.
He is a hitman and the main antagonist in the Cohen Brother’s masterpiece.
Story:
Chigurh is hired to recover a satchel containing $2.4 million dollars from the scene of a drug deal gone bad. But when a local hunter chances on the money and takes it, Chigurh ruthlessly tracks him, stopping at nothing to recover the money, killing just about anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with him along the way.
Personality and Characteristics:
The reason this villain is so good is because he’s just so cold and ruthless. He’s completely devoid of conscience, remorse and compassion and he’s totally psychotic.
He sees himself as a “hand of fate” and in a number of scenes in the movie he uses a coin toss to decide the fate of some of his would-be victims - the most notable being the gas station attendant early on in the movie (arguably the best scene in the film!)
Physical Appearance:
Chigurgh’s appearance alone is unnerving.
Sporting a creepy 1970s style hairdo (inspired by a 1979 picture of a brothel patron in a book Tommy Lee Jones was reading), you know something’s not right with Chigurh as soon as you see him.
Weapon of Choice:
His weapon of choice for much of the movie is a captive bolt stunner (or cattle gun). It’s an unusual choice and a totally savage weapon that he uses to kill his victims by shooting a bolt through their heads. He also uses it to shoot out door locks.
Trivia:
When the Cohen Brothers first approached Javier Bardem for the role he said “I don’t drive, I speak bad English and I hate violence”. The Cohens replied, “that’s why we called you”.
He took the part because he said it was his dream to be in a Cohen Brothers film.
It almost didn’t happen though. Bardem almost withdrew from the movie due to scheduling conflicts and British actor Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service) was on standby to jump in. Fortunately though the scheduling issues were resolved and Bardem took the role (Mark Strong must’ve been gutted!)
When Bardem first saw his new hair cut for the movie he said “Oh no, now I won’t get laid for the next two months”. 😆
It totally worked in giving Chigurh the odd look that makes him so creepy.
Empire Magazine ranked Anton Chigurh #46 on their list: The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
“What’s the most you ever lost in a coin toss?”
Who should I feature next week..? 🤔