209
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #150,801 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★☆
An extremely divisive piece of sheer poetry.
Cormac McCarthy is not for everyone.
His books hit like a brick to the stomach, and are just about as dense. He says *to hell* to grammar and punctuation. Because who needs commas when 17 uses of "and" will do? Why make 12 little sentences when one large one will do? Why make your characters speak normally when they can converse in existential soliloquies? Heck, why name your characters at all?
In spite of this, he is probably the most influential author alive, and one of the most divisive. His sentences can make a grown man weep, laugh, and disturbed...frequently all at once. His characters are broadly drawn, vividly realized, and unforgettable. They inhabit a dark, morally ambiguous world where Argentine vixen go cheetah hunting in the Mexican desert, where people are decapitated by razor wire stretched across roads. This is The Counsellor, a divisive yet stunning look at the nature of greed, evil, and desperation, brought to vivid life by Ridley Scott and his brilliant cast. Welcome to the world of Cormac McCarthy.
Whether you want to be in this world, whether you agree with his grand themes, or can even put up with McCarthy's dense little gems of sentences depends on YOU. There is an equal chance that you will find The Counsellor slow, confusing, and difficult that you will find it thought-provoking, visually stunning, and lyrical. I urge you to watch it and make up your mind. Just know what you're going in for: this is not an thrill-packed action movie. This is a slow-burning, existential psychological thriller punctuated by moments of visceral violence and constructed of gorgeously rendered soliloquies by an excellent cast.
The Counsellor is bound to force you to make an opinion. You will either love this film...or not at all. Don't sit up a fence, and pick up a copy of this future cult-classic. I give this film 4 stars, but my rating is completely subjective. If this review is helpful in your decision (or not) to purchase this film, please give it a like.
P.S. Tell me in the comments: did you like the film or not?
