Episode 52 – 'The Counselor'
Literary-cinematic powers unite! Ted Haycraft is back to talk about this 2013 film, Cormac McCarthy’s follow-up to both his novel and the film of No Country for Old Man, a spec script that quickly garnered director Ridley Scott and a cadre of stars’ participation — and promptly disappointed critics and audiences. On this episode we discuss:
- that disappointment;
- whether or not audiences were expecting No Country II;
- the odd roundabout effectiveness of the film’s long philosophical dialogue scenes;
- Scott’s speed as a shooter;
- and what that speed and decisiveness has done for his recently filmography.
Also:
- The film’s infamous centerpiece sex scene;
- its portrayal of women characters as guileful or smarter than its men;
- whether this is an arthouse Bond film;
- McCarthy’s first screenplay The Gardener’s Son;
- speculation on his next novel The Passenger;
- its relation to his first non-fiction work;
- and the origin of language and the unconscious.
Ted Haycraft is film critic for WFIE-14 and co-hosts Cinema Chat on its Midday show. He can also be found on Cinema Chat’s Facebook page.
The Counselor is available on VOD.
