tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post2144788273778440043..comments2024-03-28T06:14:54.076-04:00Comments on And So It Begins...: Where is Anton Chigurh?Alex Withrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-10506918147298479162023-08-25T09:48:14.099-04:002023-08-25T09:48:14.099-04:00I hear you. Wonder why Anton didn't just blow ...I hear you. Wonder why Anton didn't just blow Bell away then.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-77896634776796772412023-07-09T00:36:50.327-04:002023-07-09T00:36:50.327-04:00Anton is behind the door. If you look closely, th...Anton is behind the door. If you look closely, the door rests when all the way open on the perpendicular wall, leaving a small place for someone to hide. When Bell comes out of the bathroom and sits on the bed, there is a shot of the door and it's no longer fully open and resting on the perpindicular wall, indicating that Anton snuck out while Bell was in bathroom. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-37984675911146140812022-05-10T08:01:54.099-04:002022-05-10T08:01:54.099-04:00Great comment, thanks for this. Your final questio...Great comment, thanks for this. Your final question opens yet another door in this mystery, but it's fun to go down that hole as well.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-45622209538359887722022-05-02T22:30:02.898-04:002022-05-02T22:30:02.898-04:00Anton was in room 112 and Bell got lucky picking t...Anton was in room 112 and Bell got lucky picking the other room. If you look at the shot as Bell is walking up to the doors you can see both door knobs of 112 and 114 easily as they shine. But each door has an upper bolt lock cylinder that is black, like a hole. Anton thinks Bell is coming in his room and Bell thinks this ghost is waiting in 114. I think Bell does try to catch him and kill or be killed but meet the challenge of his job before it's over, but is scared and relieved to find 114 empty. I think the dime on the carpet as heads, is a nod to the luck of picking the right door. Bell knows, he has to retire now. Even between man and steer, the outcome is not certain. <br /><br />I wonder if there is a signifigance to the numbers 114 and 112?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-69574669108093847962021-12-16T10:16:02.526-05:002021-12-16T10:16:02.526-05:00Hey David! I have to approve all of the comments b...Hey David! I have to approve all of the comments before they appear on the site. I get about 100-150 spam comments a day, so if I didn't have this extra step of authentication, every post on this blog would drown in spam. <br /><br />But more importantly, thank you so much for leaving such a detailed comment! I loved reading it, because it sent me down a great rabbit hole again. I love exploring all the possibilities here. And I love your final thoughts; I think there's a lot of truth to that.<br />Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-34065668055456057692021-12-02T13:39:23.781-05:002021-12-02T13:39:23.781-05:00About the final scene in the hotel room:
- I futze...About the final scene in the hotel room:<br />- I futzed with black point and contrast etc and Chigur was not actually behind the door in real life during the shoot. This doesn’t matter, however. <br /><br />- Evidence that Chigur was behind the entry door are 1) the we see him with what SEEMS to be the lock hole in front of him 2) the odd way the door did not bounce when opened. The door did not seem to stick to a hotel room magnetic doorstop, but rather it does look like someone let it hit the wall/doorstop but grabbed it and didn’t allow the door to rebound. I believe a man could hide behind that particular door with a big briefcase of money because of the largish triangle it made with the wall. Also the door seems to not be in the same place after the sheriff sits on the bed, as mentioned by others. <br /><br />- Evidence that Chigur is still in the room and not next door: the left behind dime, like Chigur was interrupted. I remember he used a dime to open a different vent earlier in the story. One can see the tell-take scrapes on the vent’s bottom, just like the scrapes in the first vent. <br /><br />Weird thoughts:<br />-The light streaming through the lockhole during its close-up is a bit odd. There is nothing next to the lockhole that would reflect light. I’m not sure what this means, if it’s lit that way just for drama or if it’s a clue.<br /><br />-could Chigur have been hiding in the bathroom, behind the bathroom door? Looks like plenty of room. The sheriff never looks behind the door, and the windowlock is gold just like the light coming through the lockhole on the front door. During the dramatic shot of Chigur holding his shotgun against the wall, the gold light is very out of focus…maybe the windowlock? Probably a crackpot theory. <br /><br />As noted by others, it’s unclear if 112 has its lock blown out. Chigur could be in there, but there’s the dime problem. And of course there’s the idea that Chigur shot the sheriff and that everything else afterwards is some sort of dying dream sequence or the like. But that feels off to me because of the last line of “Then I woke up.” The movie doesn’t pretend to wrap anything up, doesn’t preach, doesn’t seem to provide any moral framework. Just randomness, destiny via randomness, by cosmic coin flip. <br /><br />Also, the similarities of the sheriff’s name and the killer’s could be interpreted as two sides of the same coin. Cops are very similar to the ones they pursue. David Ray Carsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12700304940367125658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-58645033510226412452021-06-21T18:29:45.288-04:002021-06-21T18:29:45.288-04:00Hmm that's interesting. I suppose that could b...Hmm that's interesting. I suppose that could be absolutely true!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-46980800711694820142021-06-19T08:14:21.415-04:002021-06-19T08:14:21.415-04:00Earlier we saw a man hiding behind a shower curtai...Earlier we saw a man hiding behind a shower curtain. Maybe that's where Chigurh is in this scene (without the money.... The Mexicans have aleady taken it). Bell inexplicably doesn't look in the shower. It's as though he doesn't really want to find Chigurh.Chuck Rhodehttp://lacusveris.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-19232086825657150402021-04-14T18:02:07.461-04:002021-04-14T18:02:07.461-04:00Holy crap I never noticed that. Brilliant catch.Holy crap I never noticed that. Brilliant catch.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-34163932605846664132021-04-14T18:00:54.881-04:002021-04-14T18:00:54.881-04:00Damn this is another great theory! And you're ...Damn this is another great theory! And you're right about the coins... I never really believed those would be left behind, unless deliberately.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-33853142239802542452021-04-11T23:30:20.659-04:002021-04-11T23:30:20.659-04:00Here is another thought i didnt see mentioned, in ...Here is another thought i didnt see mentioned, in that Moss most likely rented both 114 and 112, either to hide the money in the room he was not actually in when killed, which was 114. So Chigur could have gone into that room and didn't find the money behind the vent. What bothers me though is why he would leave all the coins there on the floor---no way, the coins are way too important to him, at least symbolically (dont just put it in your pocket line from gas station scene). So i think Chirgur blows off lock of 112 and is in there when Bell shows up. There is a convenient shadow over the lock, too convenient, it is there on purpose, so that in that 1 or 2 frames showing the door to 112 you cant see one way or the other if lock is there or not. Moss had to rent two rooms because there was no way he was going to be in same room as his mother in law. But still the coins left on floor in 114 if chugur is in 112 when Bell shows upJim,https://www.blogger.com/profile/07859425265543266981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-22288364313747652812021-04-11T22:54:17.513-04:002021-04-11T22:54:17.513-04:00I went frame by frame, there only a couple, of th...I went frame by frame, there only a couple, of the scene showing the two doors closed. Lock for 114 clearly gone, however there is a shadow covering the lock of 112, so not sure how you can see it is clearly intact? I think that shadow is there on purpose, of course, cause the Coens are brilliant and love the fact that there is no one single piece of evidence that would give viewers a correct answer as to whether Anton is in 114 or 112, or even in the room at all. The fact that he is in a car in the parking lot in the book would seem to lead to him being in one of the rooms thoughJim,https://www.blogger.com/profile/07859425265543266981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-31773448224989412412021-03-22T11:21:55.764-04:002021-03-22T11:21:55.764-04:00But isn't there a huge clue from the Coen'...But isn't there a huge clue from the Coen's when Bell pulls up to the motel?<br />You have it in the very first picture at the top of the blog - they have literally written 'LOOK' - with the motel room doors as the o's. Its the kind of smart easter egg that we love them for. He's in there if you really want to find him... John petohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03541049399782074374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-18813791986339202462020-11-12T11:26:48.388-05:002020-11-12T11:26:48.388-05:00"Acceptable" is a really good word to pu..."Acceptable" is a really good word to put on it, because that's how I feel about my choice too. But I honestly think JohnGeorgeHill's comment above nailed it.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-56166688419230018982020-11-12T01:54:08.058-05:002020-11-12T01:54:08.058-05:00I just watched this movie for the first time recen...I just watched this movie for the first time recently and I've been thinking alot about this scene. At first I thought it was theory 1, then 2, and now I'm most confident its 4. The thing that made me change my mind from 2 to 4 is the close up shot of the blown out lock from Bell's perspective. As he walks up to the hotel rooms, it is shown that room 114 has the lock on the left side of the door while room 112 has the lock of the right side. The close up shot of the hole from Bell's perspective clearly shows a lock on the left side of a door, or else the right edge of the doorframe would have to be in the shot. I used to prefer 2 because it continues the movies 100% realism in that it never tries to trick you with dream sequences or hallucinations, and it provides a nice parallel between chigurh and moss in terms of hiding in a different hotel room to escape. However, I really think if the Coen Brothers wanted Chigurh to be in the adjacent hotel room they would've had a shot of the correct lock for that specific room, that is one that's one the right side of the door. That just leaves theory 4 to me, which I find the most acceptable. This scene feels like the absolute height of Bell's fear and I suppose its fitting that the one 'imaginary' shot in the whole movie is when Bell's mind and heartrate are probably both racing as he builds up the courage to open the door. There may be other 'imaginary' shots or scenes in the movie that I missed, I've only seen it once after all. In terms of never seeing Chigurh, I suppose that you could put any bad looking dude in the shadows and it would fit Bell's vision of a criminal whose violence he cannot understand, but I dont think there would be any point in putting anyone else there but Chigurh, as the audience knows who he is and what he looks like and inserting someone else would probably just make the scene even more confusing. That's just my two cents thoughnolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16044418357738952689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-1445958252323793442020-10-27T14:00:29.522-04:002020-10-27T14:00:29.522-04:00Gotcha, thanks for the follow-up! I love how much ...Gotcha, thanks for the follow-up! I love how much thought you've put into this.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-26906845264515022442020-09-30T18:25:05.041-04:002020-09-30T18:25:05.041-04:00EXCELLENT QUESTION
I think this is a deliberate d...EXCELLENT QUESTION<br /><br />I think this is a deliberate discontinuity here and there is no guaranteed explanation. Nevertheless, my own theory is that shot of Chigurh - which is the only interior shot of the hotel room before Bell opens the door - isn't real. It's all in Bell's head, and the fact that he's imagining Javier Bardem is a movie conceit based on the fact that the audience knows who Chigurh is even if Bell doesn't. <br /><br />Not only is the image of Chigurh hiding inconsistent with the way he's portrayed anywhere else in the film, but the idea that Bell is fantasizing a shoot out to be (which never occurs, hence his sense of relief when he sits on the bed) is only there to reinforce the idea that the old Sheriff does not actually want to meet the psychopath.Beer Baronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-8203061199052990392020-09-22T10:18:30.899-04:002020-09-22T10:18:30.899-04:00It's actually kind of incredible, your theory....It's actually kind of incredible, your theory. Because it's so simple, straight forward, and logical, that it's almost too hard to see. It's a truly great read on a really complex scene. I loved your take on this.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-80199899722123071962020-08-27T16:50:36.932-04:002020-08-27T16:50:36.932-04:00Thanks for that, and thanks for your incredible wo...Thanks for that, and thanks for your incredible work. This film has made me think back to it more than just about any movie I can think of. I had not read the book, but after the motel shoot-out, I thought to myself, this is not about Llewelyn Moss, it's about Sheriff Bell! One day I decided I wanted to read everything about the ending after I read the complete script online hoping to understand the confusing ending. Found nothing, but it led me to your blog. Kind of surprised that I seemed to be the only on with this line of thinking. I've always ruined bad movies for my friends and family with my quest for logic. Lol.JohnGeorgeHillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718690009739294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-10308941213394380672020-08-27T16:35:56.853-04:002020-08-27T16:35:56.853-04:00I actually think I fully agree with this theory. T...I actually think I fully agree with this theory. This makes complete sense to me. Fuck, well done.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-50990025036653552532020-08-19T14:39:52.407-04:002020-08-19T14:39:52.407-04:00I first guessed that Sheriff Bell thought there mi...I first guessed that Sheriff Bell thought there might be a possibility that the money was still there in the vent. Knowing he wanted to retire, he wanted to take the chance to get the money and retire with it. It's why he went by himself and did not use backup. He knew he was doing wrong, and his fear was telling him that. His sigh on the bed recognized the money was gone and he had risked his life for it. Anton is in the other room, back to recover the money after the shoot-out. Bell was just lucky.JohnGeorgeHillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718690009739294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-38456066760033672552020-07-09T13:16:06.211-04:002020-07-09T13:16:06.211-04:00Love this, thanks so much for the excerpts! I love...Love this, thanks so much for the excerpts! I love going back to the source like that. Quick question then... how does Bell imagine perfectly what Chigurh looks like, when he's never seen his face?Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-27742580461379727062020-07-02T22:43:53.281-04:002020-07-02T22:43:53.281-04:00CHIGURH WAS NEVER IN THE ROOM
Below are the openi...CHIGURH WAS NEVER IN THE ROOM<br /><br />Below are the opening monologues by Sheriff Bell from the book and MOVIE (I added capitals for emphasis where necessary) regarding Bell placing his "soul at hazard." <br /><br />BOOK:<br /><br />“Somewhere out there is a true and living prophet of destruction and I dont want to confront him. I know he's real. I have seen his work. I WALKED IN FRONT OF THOSE EYES ONCE. I WON'T DO IT AGAIN. I wont push my chips forward and stand up and go out to meet him. It aint just bein older. I wish that it was. I cant say that it's even what you are willin to do. Because I always knew that you had to be willin to die to even do this job. That was always true. Not to sound glorious about it or nothin but you do. If you aint they'll know it. They'll see it in a heartbeat. I think it is more like what you are willin to become. AND I THINK A MAN WOULD HAVE TO PUT HIS SOUL AT HAZARD. And I wont do that.”<br /><br />MOVIE <br /><br />"I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five. Hard to believe. Grandfather was a lawman. Father too. Me and him was sheriff at the same time, him in Plano and me here. I think he was pretty proud of that. I know I was. Some of the old-time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lot of folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough never carried one. That the younger Jim. Gaston Boykins wouldn’t wear one. Up in Commanche County. I always liked to hear about the old- timers. Never missed a chance to do so. Nigger Hoskins over in Batrop County knowed everybody’s phone number off by heart. You can’t help but compare yourself against the old timers. Can’t help but wonder how they would’ve operated these times. There was this boy I sent to Huntsville here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killed a fourteen-year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn’t any passion to it. Told me that he’d been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he’d do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell. Be there in about fifteen minutes. I don’t know what to make of that. I surely don’t. The crime you see now, it’s hard to even take its measure. It’s not that I’m afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job – not to be glorious. But I don’t want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don’t understand. You can say it’s my job to fight it but I don’t know what it is anymore. More than that, I don’t want to know. A MAN WOULD HAVE TO PUT HIS SOUL AT HAZARD. He would have to say, okay, I’ll be part of this world."<br /><br />CONCLUSION<br /><br />The movie is a VERY faithful adaptation of the book. Consequently, the Coen Brothers intentionally chose to omit Bell's claim to have "walked in front of [Chigurh's] eyes" (which actually happens in the book). This is because in the movie, when Bell enters the motel room--he is imagining that the killer could be hiding in the shadows.<br />Beer Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08085785323184968814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-64743886286041103052020-04-02T13:58:15.985-04:002020-04-02T13:58:15.985-04:00And you think he's hiding behind the door?And you think he's hiding behind the door?Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-10285577433222722462020-03-07T12:39:39.066-05:002020-03-07T12:39:39.066-05:00I think Chigurh is UNARMED. He was carrying the ai...I think Chigurh is UNARMED. He was carrying the air tank to blow out the lock and wasn't expecting anyone to show up. If he had a gun he would've killed Ed Tom. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07876005526060452584noreply@blogger.com