I love that people love this weird movie, and I always love reading those thoughts on it, but I hated it on release and then tried again with the director's cut... And I hated it all over again. I don't think this will ever be a movie that I "get".
Thanks for the piece on one of my favorite films of the 21st century, which finally got me off my ass to subscribe. I certainly agree that the unforeseeable reverberation of earlier choices is a key theme, but to me the core of the film is substantially more fatalistic than that. I forget who coined the term "moral Lovecraftianism" to describe McCarthy's worldview -- maybe Noel Murray -- but THE COUNSELOR is maybe its purest expression. The key to the film, IMO, is in Malkina's closing paean to one of her pet jaguars, which Scott's final cut shortens substantially from McCarthy's screenplay: "You can make no distinction between what he is and what he does. And what he does is kill. We of course are another matter." The Counselor has tangled with forces that he does not understand and to which he is not equal; so has Westray; and so has Malkina. They are variably prepared to confront those forces and have made their choices with varying degrees of conscious understanding, but they are all playing the same game, in which McCarthy thinks we are all at least pawns, and to which he thinks we will ultimately fall prey, perhaps spectacularly and on a global scale.
I'm going to guess that I speak for many, many subscribers by saying the return of this column is alone worth the money. If Laser Age also makes a comeback, I may need a fainting couch.
I am so dang delighted that you're doing NCC again!!!
And, I am so delighted that this movie is the first one - I haven't actually watched it yet but it's been on the bubble for a long while, it clearly has a developing cult already (I've seen many people call it one of the best of the 21st century!) and this is the nudge I need to watch it soon.
Me so happy to see NCC come back! It like walking idly through grocery store and finding out they put Hydox back into production! This make me want to take chance on this crazy film, which me avoided because critical consensus was so harsh at time.
And me also dying to see which other movies from past eight year deemed Cult Canon-worthy!
In Rabin terms, for me this is more a Fiasco than a Secret Success - but it looks terrific and has moments that are quite breathtaking; such as, there are at least three memorable deaths but, as I'm never quite sure when they happen (or indeed when anything happens, or why), it lends itself nicely to multiple viewings. So while I wouldn't consider this a misunderstood masterpiece, I'm absorbed every time; to borrow a phrase from The Ringer, it's a 'Flawed Rewatchable'. Even elements I really don't like are fascinating - for example, if you recast Diaz's role (and she's terrible in this), it might be "better" but you also might lose a lot of its bizarro appeal.
Also, how can two of the most beautiful people in the world be so laughably bad at sex talk? It's as if Fassbender and Cruz learned their dialogue phonetically. I remember that being that being an early clue that this was going to be quite something, and maybe not altogether intentional.
In a similar vein - weird-ass major studio release, critical ultra-flop yet beloved by devotees, especially in a later, longer cut - might MIAMI VICE be a future Canon contender...?
I am beyond thrilled TNCC is back! It's like we get more and more pieces of the late (great) The Dissolve resurrected again.
The Counselor is certainly an interesting choice, though like Boondock Saints, is one that I never liked at all. Despite its pedigree, I'm firmly in the camp that most of critics and theater-goers (a "D" Cinemascore, right?) were right the first time. To me, this is a movie where a dopey guy (the titular counselor) tells all his friends that he's going to swim with the dolphins, and it's going to be great, and they in turn go, no, those are sharks, not dolphins and it's a very, very bad idea but he won't listen. And so he goes swimming with sharks and gets torn to pieces, and those sharks even kill and eat each other, and that's it, the end. That's the movie.
However, I do have one hot take that is contrarian to everyone, and that is that I think Cameron Diaz is the best thing in this movie. Yeah, you heard that right. Even THAT scene, well, she commits 100% although I feel like it was imposed by the script and the director but doesn't really work as intended. That's not her fault. But Malkina is the only character that knows who she is and what she is doing and what her motivations are. Diaz plays her correctly, and yeah I'm fine with that accent, whatever it is (who cares). Meanwhile, Fassbender and Cruz have 0 chemistry (also he's stuck playing the role with a dopey smile far too often and it's a bad choice, IMO), Bardem is miscast (once you've played Chigurh, playing the tackiest drug dealer is like playing the loser that's easiest for Chigurh to kill, a part that belongs to a lesser actor), and Brad Pitt is playing Brad Pitt. He was better literally anywhere else where he's playing an actual character, even trash like Interview With a Vampire.
Welcome back TNCC! This movie baffled me when it came out and this is the excuse I needed to check it out again. However, the actual viewing of it holds a special place in my heart because RIGHT as the credits started to roll, someone in the multiplex pulled the fire alarm and we all had to evacuate. Since the movie wasn't technically over, the theater gave us all a free pass to come back AND another one as an apology for the inconvenience. Ended up getting three movies for the price of one! Thanks COUNSELOR!
Very happy to see TNCC back in action! Didn't see this when it came out as a result of the negative critical reception, but it has come up a surprising number of times in the years since and this definitely makes me interested in checking it out at some point. And also finally getting around to reading some McCarthy which I've been meaning to do for like 10 years or so.
I love that people love this weird movie, and I always love reading those thoughts on it, but I hated it on release and then tried again with the director's cut... And I hated it all over again. I don't think this will ever be a movie that I "get".
Thanks for the piece on one of my favorite films of the 21st century, which finally got me off my ass to subscribe. I certainly agree that the unforeseeable reverberation of earlier choices is a key theme, but to me the core of the film is substantially more fatalistic than that. I forget who coined the term "moral Lovecraftianism" to describe McCarthy's worldview -- maybe Noel Murray -- but THE COUNSELOR is maybe its purest expression. The key to the film, IMO, is in Malkina's closing paean to one of her pet jaguars, which Scott's final cut shortens substantially from McCarthy's screenplay: "You can make no distinction between what he is and what he does. And what he does is kill. We of course are another matter." The Counselor has tangled with forces that he does not understand and to which he is not equal; so has Westray; and so has Malkina. They are variably prepared to confront those forces and have made their choices with varying degrees of conscious understanding, but they are all playing the same game, in which McCarthy thinks we are all at least pawns, and to which he thinks we will ultimately fall prey, perhaps spectacularly and on a global scale.
I'm going to guess that I speak for many, many subscribers by saying the return of this column is alone worth the money. If Laser Age also makes a comeback, I may need a fainting couch.
Welcome back, TNCC - I wondered if that was an intentional tease you dropped in your recent Ridley rankings article for Vulture.
I am so dang delighted that you're doing NCC again!!!
And, I am so delighted that this movie is the first one - I haven't actually watched it yet but it's been on the bubble for a long while, it clearly has a developing cult already (I've seen many people call it one of the best of the 21st century!) and this is the nudge I need to watch it soon.
Me so happy to see NCC come back! It like walking idly through grocery store and finding out they put Hydox back into production! This make me want to take chance on this crazy film, which me avoided because critical consensus was so harsh at time.
And me also dying to see which other movies from past eight year deemed Cult Canon-worthy!
In Rabin terms, for me this is more a Fiasco than a Secret Success - but it looks terrific and has moments that are quite breathtaking; such as, there are at least three memorable deaths but, as I'm never quite sure when they happen (or indeed when anything happens, or why), it lends itself nicely to multiple viewings. So while I wouldn't consider this a misunderstood masterpiece, I'm absorbed every time; to borrow a phrase from The Ringer, it's a 'Flawed Rewatchable'. Even elements I really don't like are fascinating - for example, if you recast Diaz's role (and she's terrible in this), it might be "better" but you also might lose a lot of its bizarro appeal.
Also, how can two of the most beautiful people in the world be so laughably bad at sex talk? It's as if Fassbender and Cruz learned their dialogue phonetically. I remember that being that being an early clue that this was going to be quite something, and maybe not altogether intentional.
In a similar vein - weird-ass major studio release, critical ultra-flop yet beloved by devotees, especially in a later, longer cut - might MIAMI VICE be a future Canon contender...?
I am beyond thrilled TNCC is back! It's like we get more and more pieces of the late (great) The Dissolve resurrected again.
The Counselor is certainly an interesting choice, though like Boondock Saints, is one that I never liked at all. Despite its pedigree, I'm firmly in the camp that most of critics and theater-goers (a "D" Cinemascore, right?) were right the first time. To me, this is a movie where a dopey guy (the titular counselor) tells all his friends that he's going to swim with the dolphins, and it's going to be great, and they in turn go, no, those are sharks, not dolphins and it's a very, very bad idea but he won't listen. And so he goes swimming with sharks and gets torn to pieces, and those sharks even kill and eat each other, and that's it, the end. That's the movie.
However, I do have one hot take that is contrarian to everyone, and that is that I think Cameron Diaz is the best thing in this movie. Yeah, you heard that right. Even THAT scene, well, she commits 100% although I feel like it was imposed by the script and the director but doesn't really work as intended. That's not her fault. But Malkina is the only character that knows who she is and what she is doing and what her motivations are. Diaz plays her correctly, and yeah I'm fine with that accent, whatever it is (who cares). Meanwhile, Fassbender and Cruz have 0 chemistry (also he's stuck playing the role with a dopey smile far too often and it's a bad choice, IMO), Bardem is miscast (once you've played Chigurh, playing the tackiest drug dealer is like playing the loser that's easiest for Chigurh to kill, a part that belongs to a lesser actor), and Brad Pitt is playing Brad Pitt. He was better literally anywhere else where he's playing an actual character, even trash like Interview With a Vampire.
Can't wait for future installments!
Speed Racer! YES
Welcome back TNCC! This movie baffled me when it came out and this is the excuse I needed to check it out again. However, the actual viewing of it holds a special place in my heart because RIGHT as the credits started to roll, someone in the multiplex pulled the fire alarm and we all had to evacuate. Since the movie wasn't technically over, the theater gave us all a free pass to come back AND another one as an apology for the inconvenience. Ended up getting three movies for the price of one! Thanks COUNSELOR!
Great piece about a film that I probably won't rewatch, but you made me want to.
Very happy to see TNCC back in action! Didn't see this when it came out as a result of the negative critical reception, but it has come up a surprising number of times in the years since and this definitely makes me interested in checking it out at some point. And also finally getting around to reading some McCarthy which I've been meaning to do for like 10 years or so.