# Yet another No Country for Old Men question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 3, 2023, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540 "2023-09-03T07:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/1 "2023-09-03T07:03:50Z")
I’ve looked through the other threads and didn’t find this question - Carson sees the case by the river. Then we cut to a scene at night as Carson walks back to his hotel room and Anton follows him. Carson says he knows where the money is and it could be there in 20 minutes. So why the hell did he leave it there by the river? ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/2 "2023-09-03T10:32:48Z")
Maybe he thought he’d pick it up later when it got dark out? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/3 "2023-09-03T16:52:45Z")
I’ve never seen the movie. @slicedalone nailed as the book had it. Carson’s goal was to not be seen collecting the case of money. It was naturally well-hidden enough to survive an afternoon & evening unnoticed in that low-traffic area. Or so he thought. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/4 "2023-09-03T17:29:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve never seen the movie. Oh, you must. You must. Fabulous movie. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/5 "2023-09-03T23:38:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Carson’s goal was to not be seen collecting the case of money. It was naturally well-hidden enough to survive an afternoon & evening unnoticed in that low-traffic area. Or so he thought. It did survive unnoticed. Carson himself didn’t survive to come back for it, and Llewelyn retrieved it knowing where it was because he’d put it there. > [@slicedalone](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > I’ve never seen the movie. > > Oh, you must. You must. > > Fabulous movie. Strongly agree. A rare example of the book and movie being equally terrific in their respective media. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/6 "2023-09-04T01:40:22Z")
I normally despise seeing the movie having read the book. IMO the two different media demand two different stories told two different ways. IMO/IME book then movie is utter disappointment, no matter how epic (or minor) the tale. It’s always a crude caricature badly delivered and void of motivation or nuance. It might be pretty; it can’t be good. Movie then book can work if the movie didn’t stray too far - the book provides all the details the movie can’t spare 4 seconds for. But usually the book disappoints, or renders the movie a retroactive disappointment. My new wife is the opposite: she insists on reading the book first if both exist. To her this brings out all sorts of novel co-insights absent from either form. Color me baffled, but at least she’s really, really cute. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/7 "2023-09-04T02:13:36Z")
I definitely see your point about book then movie, but because the media are so utterly different it can, in fact, work if the movie is particularly well done, which among other things means well adapted to the strengths and limitations of the medium. Among the risks of book then movie is (a) that you’ve formed a mental picture of certain characters or some other imagery, and the movie’s representation is completely different, and (b) that the fast pacing and lack of explanatory depth makes the movie seem like a rushed CliffsNotes version of the book. One example of an excellent movie that I enjoyed after reading the book was _Shutter Island_, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. Very well made, with stars Leonardo di Caprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley literally bringing the novel to life. An example of the second case was _Pet Sematary_, largely because it wasn’t a very good movie and basically made a hash of one of Stephen King’s better stories. A sequel and a 2019 remake were even worse. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/8 "2023-09-04T09:00:13Z")
I did movie then book with _No Country for Old Men_. The movie was an absurdly faithful, word for word, scene for scene and dialogue for dialogue interpretation of the novel. Reading it felt rather pointless. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-no-country-for-old-men-question/989540/9 "2023-09-04T09:56:30Z")
I read Elmore Leonard’s book _Rum Punch_ and absolutely loved it. Then I saw the movie _Jackie Brown_ and it was an amazing adaptation of the book. I now reread _Rum Punch_ on the beach each winter, an rewatch _Jackie Brown_ every few years.