Analysis of coin toss scenes in no country for old men.

Analysis of coin toss scenes in no country for old men

The coin toss scenes are key elements of the film it they tell us vital points about Chigurh personality.

The first coin toss scene is set in a small petrol station in the middle of nowhere a conversation between the cashier and  Chigurh seemed perfectly normal up until the point when the cashier mentioned that he saw him coming from Dallas. Chigurh then automatically makes the conversation heated we get this idea when he calls the shopkeeper “friendo”.  Chigurh continually asks the shopkeeper questions this gives the audience an uneasy feeling. Additionally  Chigurh is placed in front of the door, this emphasises that the shopkeeper is isolated and has no escape from this vicious killer. the shopkeeper wears traditional clothing that fits the location , mid shots are used to show this as we can see the secret of the landscape behind him.  Chigurh on the other hand juxtaposes this idea as he wears dark clothing which connects to death it also  contrast with the lighting outside and other characters this and the dialogue are key elements which build tension between the characters and the audience. Within the visual codes the shopkeeper tries to end the conversation by looking away or carry on with what he was doing ,however, this does not stop  Chigurh from carrying on the conversation in the audio codes , this yet again builds up the tension for the coin toss moment.

The editing in this scene tends to be invisible first however as the conversation stars flowing cutting and shot reverse shots are used, in addition over the shoulder shots are used throughout the conversation. This helps to understand who is talking but it also helps to build tension , when the conversation becomes more heated the cuts are quicker and are more frequent. Subtle music the begins to play to build up to the peak of the tension. A cut is used to show a close up of the coin , this is seen as the moment of truth, a cut is then used again to show  Chigurh leaving this symbolises the end of the tension.

The second coin toss scene is set in Carla Jean's come , she arrives home from her mother's funeral and notices the window is open , this is a clue for her and the audience that  Chigurh is there. The room she is in has bright lighting ,although when she walks into her bedroom where Chigurh Is sitting in the corner the lighting is dim, this connotes to  Chigurh being the presents of darkness.unlike the other coin coin scene the victim of Chigurh is set closest to the door, which makes the audience believe she can escape Their conversation goes on for awhile to build up tension to the coin toss scene,  Chigurh then asks her to call in but she refuses because “the coin makes no decision it's just you”. This immediately annoys  Chigurh, later on a cut is used to show a long shot of him checking his boots, this references the genre of western ,the audience gets the idea that she is dead.

To conclude, the coin toss scenes are significant to show how dangerous  Chigurh is and to represent other characters.