Why Anton Chigurh is the Perfect Antagonist - Anton Chigurh Character Analysis
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- Why is Anton Chigurh a great character? In this character analysis of Anton Chigurh, we explore how he fits perfectly into the themes of "No Country for Old Men."
Anton Chigurh Character Breakdown ►► bit.ly/ac-ch
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro - What Makes Anton Chigurh a Great Character?
01:22 - Characterization
02:04 - Character Details
04:42 - Actions
07:47 - Theme
10:37 - Wrap Up & Final Thoughts
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Anton Chigurh became an instant icon in No Country for Old Men (2007). While some villains take years to earn their spot on the all-time greats list, Chigurh made the cut before the end credits rolled. But why? What makes him so compelling as an antagonist? In this Anton Chigurh character analysis, we’ll dissect everything we know about this character. And, as we’ll find out, his appeal is also tied to how he is used symbolically.
First, let’s talk about the character details we can observe about Anton Chigurh. His most curious feature is his haircut which is more befitting of a disco nightclub than of a psycho killer. But as the film’s hairstylist, Paul LeBlanc, points out, this was intentional. Chigurh’s clothes are a poor attempt at blending into this West Texas milieu. On top of that is his accent which is neutralized in Bardem’s performance. Together these aspects characterize Chigurh as clearly from another time and place.
Anton Chigurh kills his victims with either a captive bolt stunner (typically used to slaughter cattle) and firearms equipped with silencers. He is also relentless in his pursuit of Llewelyn and the bag of money. Combined, they make him a heartless yet effective assassin.
Chigurh’s actions create even more ambiguity - there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason why he kills most anyone he encounters but lets others live, sometimes based on a coin toss. Despite his reputation as a killing machine, there is also some humanity that peeks through on rare occasions. In an early scene with the gas station proprietor, Chigurh chokes on a cashew, which is a quite vulnerable and “human” act.
But what really puts Anton Chigurh over the top as a character is how well he represents the theme of No Country for Old Men. In the book and the film, Sheriff Bell bemoans the state of the world - the rise in senseless violence and lack of morals has put Bell into an existential quandary. The source of this moral decay is ambiguous and dangerous, just like Chigurh himself. As co-writer and co-director Joel Coen mentions, Chigurh is meant to be a human character but also an idea. By presenting Anton Chigurh as an ambiguous and violent threat, he embodies everything Bell is afraid of and everything that No Country for Old Men is really about.
Here’s the lesson for writers: you can make your villain cruel, weird or scary but if you can also tie them directly to your story’s theme, that’s when great storytelling is born.
#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro - What Makes Anton Chigurh a Great Character?
01:22 - Characterization
02:04 - Character Details
04:42 - Actions
07:47 - Theme
10:37 - Wrap Up & Final Thoughts
I have to push back on the inspiration for Bardem’s hair. It’s well-documented that the Coen’s saw a pic of a “john” in a brothel during the 70’s and used that for inspiration. It’s on film. You can google it. Made me call into question the thoroughness of the rest of this vid.
When a team of researchers studied 400 movies which spanned nearly a century they found 126 psychopathic characters of which they found Anton Chigurh's character as the most clinically accurate Portrayal of a psychopath.
That is amazing
I had read this too … but is there any source to this ?
And can’t psychopaths too have varieties ..
He's far more a sociopath than a psychopath.
@@ayshstrings Yes It was published in a Business insider article.
he is , he justifies most of his kills as LINE OF WORK while the other OUT OF THE WAY KILLS (of the gas station guy or moss wife in the end ) he leaves only 2 kills to coin because he didnt wanna bear anything for it , ITS FATE BRUH not me . thats number 1 psychopath characteristic
He made something as courteous as, "Please step out of the car, Sir," shockingly tense and horrifying.
💀
A good villain can make such mundane comments terrifying.
@@mb2001 "Tickets please". Now everytime in the train when the ticket collector shows up, its terrifying.
Chewbacca Mom leotard
@@mb2001 Well said my good friend, well said.😃👌🤝👏
There's just something especially chilling about a psychopath* who goes about his wrongs like chores, in control of the situation. Notably the joker, hans Landa and anton, the arguably best of them
@Vaughn D. Taylor Yeah, they purposely made Chigurh far removed from the human condition
The best of the worst 💯
@Vaughn D. Taylor i second that
For me Hans Landa is the opportunist sociopath he works for the SS in which his job is about hunting Jews but he has not hatred for them and he seems to enjoy his job. and when the situation is not in his favor he chooses to switch side and betray his nation to save his ass. He didn't do it for the right cause he did it out of selfishness. Everything about him is hateful.
Lorne
One thing I noticed was that whenever Chigurh spoke on the telephone, he was unable to initiate the conversation. The person on the other end of the line had to speak first. Once they did, he could talk relatively normally.
Would you hold still now, please? Sir:)
What's really scary of Anton Chigurh is he's the face of death, he's cold, he's calculated but can be sporadic, like there's a real edginess to him and if you encounter him you know you've met your end, played wonderfully by Javier Bardem, the characters of No Country For Old Men have real depth to them especially this character, I haven't read the novel this movie is based on but the characters in the movie are really well fleshed out.
It's well worth the read!
@@StudioBinder Oh yes definitely.
I've read it twice. Amazing 📚
@@mr.furley6153 Oh excellent, I need to give it a read.
Well said. Excellent movie ,the killer is smart, and ALWAYS BY HIMSELF. NO WITNESSES NOT EVEN WORKING FOR HIM.
There is something Lovecraftian about Anton Chigurh. If you compare to serial killer psychopaths in real life, or even characters like Hannibal Lector, they clearly enjoy inflicting pain and murder. Their emotions are wired incorrectly, things that cause most people pleasure do nothing for them, and the only way a serial killer feels alive is doing the things that revolt the rest of us. Most serial killers are compelling because they are a comprehensible tragedy: the inverse of our joys. Yet Anton doesn't get joy out of killing the way other depictions of serial killers do, he seems possessed by an external force acting through him, whether fate, or luck, or some incomprehensible alien calculus. He's not having fun, he's not killing toward a specific end, he's a marionette of Cthulhu, his actions feel like they aren't his own, and the brief glimpses of humanity only make it more mysterious - because the meat marionette is still alive in there, and struggling to fathom the unknowable element in himself.
Interesting take!
I agree. Until the end of the film he portrays a terminator type Villain. It’s the emotion he displays in the final two scenes that illustrate the point. You can see his internal conflict when Carla Jean refuses to play the coin toss game. He doesn’t want to kill her-even has tears in his eyes, but is bound to a code greater than himself. When you look back at the rest of the film with this new understanding it creates a deeper meaning to all his killings. He is the inevitable terribleness and randomness of death.
The final scene where he gives a fair exchange of money to the boy for his shirt offers that he may actually be finally relieved of this “code” or “curse.”
Or was perhaps a boy once too and it’s a moment of weakness for him.
You just described him perfectly! He absolutely feels otherworldly.
But he enjoyed killing the sheriff in the beginning though. His face said it all.
Personal observation: I've always thought that Anton Chigurh wanted to become Death himself. Indescriminate, silent and unstopable. Whoever bears witness, dies. Whenever he had to make a choice, he relied on chance. His appearel is also reminiscent to the Grim Reaper.
It doesn't matter why he wanted to be Death. What matters is that, in the end, he realised he never was or can become. He walked away but he didn't win.
Lovely way to look at it🙌🏻
Stunning way for him to go out
He’s just as much a victim of impermanence as everyone else
In the book, he was letting a guy get away from staring and calling him names in a bar or restaurant in the book. The guy and his friends follow Anton outside where he, reluctantly kills the guy in one blow and allows himself to get arrested. Where we catch up with him. I think we catch Anton at the end of his desire to do this kind of work. Like, when he faces off with Llewellyn's wife. She doesn't call it. ( that I can remember) and it throws him off. Then he gets hit by the car. Is he done with the life? Of being a killer? Or keeps doing what he does best. Killing. The book is open ended as well. As soon as I saw this movie I read thw book for closure, that I never got lol. That's my opinion of Anton.
@@bobbyleglocks1992 She does call it in the book, and she gets it wrong (of course). I didn’t really get the sense that he was coming to an end of his ways. As a matter of fact, in the book we see him, a little after killing Llewelyn’s wife, meeting up with the man who’s in charge of the cartel in America, and basically taking in the responsibility of reorganizing and making the cartel more efficient. He didn’t change a bit, except maybe he doesn’t want to be personally involved in the killing anymore. According to that view, he may have killed the girl to close that chapter of his life (as Moss, Wells, and many of his former employers are dead, the only remaining link to that life is the promise he made to Moss).
Undoubtedly, one of my favourite antagonists of all time. Great analysis
Thanks for watching!
protagonists arent always good guys its the main character that the story follows. learn about the words you're using, he is not the antagonist of this story. im the protagonist of my own life story and im an asshole, learn something
Isn’t it crazy we got three of the greatest villains all in three years:
Anton in 2007
Heath Ledger in 2008
And Christoph Waltz as Hans in 2009
Love it
best supporting Oscars
Wow, never noticed that!
You forgot Gus Fring
@@harrymackenzie5403 TV doesn't count.
Don't forget Obama. He was the worst killer of them all.
The captive bolt was a brilliant choice for the unknowable Anton. No viewer ever forgets the captive bolt.
Such a unique choice 👌
I love this analysis. Javier Bardem really understood what was required of him as an actor.
But I have to say, he really does not do much. He just has this otherwordly face and presence as a man.
@@sigmundfreude4088 disagree or else there would be so many more character dissections on characters like Anton but there isn’t. Everything he does has intent. Those robotic movements (hard enough alone), the voice, the look (he absolutely hated the look of the hairstyle).
@Sigmund Freude he doesn't do much but what he does, he definitely does enough of it.
The theme is the most important aspect of what makes Anton a great villain. The hairstyle, costume, accent, etc are all cool add-ons. But in the end, the villain must always be an integral part of the core them that your story is built on.
Yup, everything else helps make the theme more powerful
He is cold , efficient , calm , composed , skilled , methodical and articulate.
🔥💯
The gas station scene could be an award winning short film. Incredible piece of cinema.
Also seems to me when a few of the people he let live seem to have something in common with Anton. They followed their rule/code and didn't flinch. That's why the trailer park manager got to live. He tried to force info out of her and she told him to pound sand, and I think he respects that.
When he confronts the trailer park manager, someone offscreen flushes a toilet. Anton looks towards it. It’s quiet, but it’s there. I think that’s why he doesn’t kill her, he doesn’t know who’s there and he’s careful.
@@davidp3051 I never noticed that. Will listen next watch
She probably reminds him of his mother. Friendo...
interesting theory, but it‘s really just because of the toilet flushing which increased the risk of unforseen consequences.
Javier Bardem managed to be a subtle villain like Silva or be a cold-blooded psychopath like Anton Chigurh
He's the best!
How the writers thought it would be a good idea to cast a spanish man in the role of a non-spanish hitman for a spanish cartel is beyond me, how his actor managed to pull it off so seamlessly is even more of a mystery to me.
It wasn't a Spanish cartel but yeah I get your point
spanish cartel in the usa? ok
@@samdaniels2 Yeah my bad I always mix Mexican and Spanish up
They are called actors dummy, thats their job, portray characters
@@MemoContrerasf And I'm here saying that the writers and actors did a good job. Did you just read my comment and get upset by words?
The tension in his scenes is incredibly high, you never know how he's gonna act. And the unstoppable train metaphor fits quite well.
Always interesting to learn more about the background of films!
Lots to learn from the best films!
"Do you have any idea how crazy you are?"
"You mean the nature of this conversation?"
"I mean the nature of you."
And the Evil Smile in his face is somenthing i cant forgett.
he jad the best "comebacks"...
I like when Carla Jean tells him him she did'nt even pay for her moms funeral,and he just answers "i would'nt worry about it" (implies he will kill her anyway so no problem for unpaid bills)
Perfect dialogue
One of the haunting villain I had ever witnessed.
Such a treat to watch 🔥
@@StudioBinder 🙌
I feel like Chigurh saw himself as something akin to a force of nature, inescapable and uncaring. He is fate, misfortune, and death made manifest. When you meet him, it means whatever transpired in your life has culminated in that confrontation with him. Each time he kills people, he confirms his worldview and his own place within it as an agent of disaster. I feel like this is also why hes so fixated on the idea of “the right tool for the right job”
Detailed analysis on one character....YESSSS...Thank You...I wanna see this as a series - Page to Picture.
We have more page to picture videos if you want to see more! (one on Interstellar ua-cam.com/video/N_JxIzYfZGM/v-deo.html) But yeah, this was our first breaking down specifically a character. Let us know if you have any suggestions!
@@StudioBinder yeah, Patrick Bateman (from America phycho 2000) next plz
@@StudioBinder Silence of the lambs is prolly my favourite character development movie.
4:56, outstanding editing. The pace and tempo matching the shots from his Remington 870, absolutely bone chilling.
Thanks for this video ! Finally I got to know that weird yet vaguely recognisable hairstyle of Anton is from the era of crusades .. now I recollect character illustrations with this hairstyle in the Robin Hood (story from the same era) books I had read as a child . Truly makes this antagonist transcend time
It's all in the details!
@@StudioBinder yes sir !
I also notice a slight moistness under his eyes . Sign of a person always simmering
There's no one like him. He's a villain in a category by himself. So menacing, yet so calm & matter-of-fact. And that voice!
Another quality analysis, friendo
Glad you liked it :)
"- What is necessity of yours where I'm from... friendoh." 🔥🔥🔥
😂💀
[Well, there is a tornado warning out there. It might be helpful to know if you're going away from it or towards it]
(Entirely plausible in that part of the country)
God I forgot how utterly amazing these videos are. Right down to the EXCELLENT background music (p.s. THANK YOU SO MUCH for listing these in the description). Lastly, please never let this narrator leave, he’s SO good.
brilliantly crafted villain
Definitely!
Ah, the one thing I look forward to every Monday - a new upload from Studio Binder!
Making your Mondays happy!
this channel is pure gold, so thankful for this kind of quality content!
Awesome! You Explain Brilliantly what makes Anton Chigurh an Unforgettable Antagonist and one of the Greatest Characters in Cinema History.
Glad you liked it!
hes the protagonist. the story is about him
By far the best character analysis video I've seen.
I hope to get more of these kind of breakdowns.
May be a good excercise to do it myself.
Thank you!
One of my all-time favorite films. Anton Chigurh is such a great character.
Great character to study
I was waiting for a perfect time to watch this movie and, out of sheer randomness, I finally watched it a week ago and then suddenly here we are.
You guys doing a video on it. I mean what are the odds.
Loved it though❤️🙌🏻
You guys are the best!
Happy to supplement your viewing experience :)
@@StudioBinder ❤️❤️❤️
Very good analysis, friendo.
Thanks friendo
The way you deliver your narration, too, is entertaining to listen to. Bravo, bravo, bravo!
for some just an character in a movie. to others full of intricate details. so many insights, love it! great job 👏
Well well well master is back with the iconic lesson ❤️❤️🙏🙏
Hope you liked it!
Thank you Studio Binder for providing us with such great videos truly a treat for any Cinephile
That's the goal!
thanks for this great video, really helping to get more understanding of this complicated masterpiece...the theme! the theme is everything! it's the main identity. The genius part about it is tom bell never confronts anton chigurh, to answer his question...when he's gone, he's gone for good but he never dies
Lot of interesting details in this film!
Character trait I like about him is that he seems to despise small talk.
Amazing observation of amazing movie
Glad you liked it!
Good to see video like this!!
StudioBinder Great Job!!
Thanks for watching!
Chigurh kills almost everyone he encounters. Almost. 🔥🔥🔥
Deadly encounters 😮
If I was to make a character like anton I would use the sound of someone knocking on a door, the very mystery and suspension of who's knocking will explain how mysterious and the unsettling atmosphere the character drags around with them.
Best baddies have VERY strick code, twisted maybe, but figuring it out is fun.
Makes the villain that more compelling
One of my favorite films!
Ours too!
It's his voice (cleverly recorded) & stare that frighten me
The quarter flip at the gas station is iconic. Fabulous imagination 💭!
Agree fully that Anton is special.👌🏾👍🏽🤘🏾
Happy to find this goldmine of a channel 😊
Thank you for this analysis, everything to do with No country for old man is exciting to see !
I really enjoyed (and learned from) this essay.
Excellent presentation, points, and narrative voice.
*Subscribed*
"Chigirh" is an actual, if rare, Belorussian surname, and "Anton" quite a common first name among Slavs. The chances are that McCarthy had heard it, whether or not he remembered. The intensity of the character, however, is something Bardem gave it. I have never seen a Spaniard without that unconscious hauteur : not the kindliest or most hospitable of them. Bardem, too, imparted a fleeting softening of the eyes that suggested a human being is trapped inside, even if not one that would ever get out. The only other actor I have seen who could equal this portrayal was Georgian (sword dancers, not peaches).
Just as Michael Corleone is about to dispatch Mccluskey and Sollozzo, the train in the background adds to the power of the scene.
The narration in and presentation of this video is exquisite. 👍
That's the goal!
@@StudioBinder keep it up.
awesome video binder headz!! that He-Man bowl cut of a freako sure makes my skin crawl
😂 Nothing quite like it
This narrator's voice is smooth like brandy
Enjoy :)
I am waiting every video like my favorite Show
Cheers!
Our took me watching this film 4 times before I figured out what the title meant. 😅 The conversation between Sheriff Bell and his uncle sums it up perfectly
Exactly; and, the most important thing the narrator didn't even mention/discuss! His uncle reminds him that that kind of evil has always been with us. There are people who enjoy killing others: it happens all the time; just as there are plenty who enjoy seeing it happen. Keep in mind the popularity of public executions through the ages - as well as that of ultra-violent movies, TV shows, and games these days.
excellent video!
Cheers!
A great commentary and one of the most underrated movies of all time.
Underrated? it won 4 oscars and it is constantly being talked about
I think it's a very acclaimed film no?
This is movie is not underrtaed at all.
I have yet to see it in a major top 20 list nor even in the top handful for its decade. People talk about a couple of scenes for the mastery of a technique - but it rarely transcends those moments with critics. So yes - underrated.
Underrated doesn’t have to mean ignored like Raging Bull. It simply means that something is generally assigned a value lower than the sum of its parts.
Only watched the film yesterday and i regret not having watched it sooner. Excited to read the book to hopefully see chigurh in more detail. And thank you for this great character analysis 👏
Excellent work. I’m in love with this narrator.
Amazing Analysis! Thank you for this!!!
This guys the perfect villain. I love it.
We do too!
Lovely, lovely and lovely!!!
Cheers!
Finally...some one talk about this master pieces.. 🔥❤️🔥...
Love the movie...you should also watch it... Worthy.. 🔥🔥
It's a great work!
I love how Studio Binder is using Makeup and Vanity Set's music from Brigador, a game where you are a psychopathic hired killer going on a rampage, for this video. Kinda like a small nod to me lol
😉
Amazing information,thank you👏👏
Thanks for watching!
The thing is you can forget his name,
but you can't forget his character.
As a die-hard fan of horror movies especially Michael Myers, I agree 100% with you. The two most terrifying characters I've seen on screen to date is Hannibal Lector and Anton Chigurh.
Hannibal is terrifying because of his brilliance.
Anton is terrifying not only for his wits tenacity and relentlessness. He is a force of nature. The Angel of Death personified.
Whats scarier is how he's always prepared in every scene he is in, his brain is wired that way which makes him so inhuman compared to the rest of the characters.
@@syrupsnake302 well said.
Really good! Thanks!!!
Glad you liked it!
Good editing and music choice
all try to translate all this great content to my language so every one can learn .
thank you studiobinder. ❤️🎥
Thanks for watching!
Very well done video!
I always thought that Anton Chigurh should have been a Portuguese Angolan also known as retornado. He grew up on a farm that no longer exists in a homeland he would not recognize if we went back.
I hadn't given such a background much thought; wonderful idea!
Cool! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Love it! Such a great film and largely becasue of this character.
And now we know why!
Amazing video and channel 👏
Anton Chigurh's character is one of the most representative trait of human beings' desire and madness.
Superb video .I like it .
Thanks for watching!
To this day Anton Chigurh terrifies me, you can't imagine most villains in real life,but with him you pray that something like does not come close to manifesting let alone encountering!!
He definitely is a fascinating case study. Anton likes to go deep. This is something that alienated him from people. He is the type of person most people avoid, the loner, the lone wolf. Thats why he is called a weirdo or crazy. When humans can’t understand something or someone that is out of the box they will avoid it and sometimes be frighten of that something or someone. Nothing crazy or weird about Anton he is a unique species all to himself. I can understand Anton because I go deep with people. My sister also would ask question after question like why do you do that and then ask again. Both my sister and I speak as though people are being probed or under interrogation. We don’t mean to make them uncomfortable we just want to know what makes them tick. We are inquisitive. So Anton and I share that personality trait. I am also my own boss have been that way all my life and as Anton says in the movie I call the shots or the coin calls the shots. This way he wipes his hands of any responsible. He is a psychopath, yet was he destined to be one through genetics or was he shaped into what he became by he’s childhood. The only glimpse we get of Anton’s childhood is in the first opening scene of the movie were Tommy Lee Jones is briefly narrating what kind of parenting he had. Basically none, he was shunted from pillar to post through he’s adolescence. How he came to work for a big time drug cartel boss isn’t clear. Anton’s answer to that would probably be a simple one, I answered an add in the local paper asking for a gun for hire.
Such a masterpiece.
one of my all time favourite movies.
I didn't watch this movie for the longest time because of the title. When I finally relented, boy, what a movie. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen.
wow so amazing filming
Mr. Javier is a great actor and been playing some really interesting villains
What a character!!
One of the best!
Superb movie! Big fan of Coen Brothers work!
I love synthwave music. Lots of good songs in this video. I listen to them while i fly on dcs.
The character review was good too
One of the best thriller ever, no doubt a masterpiece!
This video!!!!
Effing gold!!!
This is a great analysis and a great set of bullet points in how to create an antagonist.
But...
if the rule you follow, brought you to this, what good was this rule?
you mean the nature of this conversation?
😂
He really is one of the best antagonist of all time!
The coin flipping reminded me of Harvey Two-Face.
Please, I need a character analysis of Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange.
Thanks for the suggestion!
then check out "the vile eye",very cool ytb channel doing only famous villain analyses,very well made videos. The series of videos is called "analysing evil" !
Analysing Evil is amazing!! It's really worth watching.
Love the editing jokes on this one.
;)
The train SFX "theme" is taken directly from Godfather. So many movies and tv shows steals that effect.
It is pretty much the same idea
Great haircut. love it.