The Transference of Screen Angst To Spectator (aka an excuse to talk about the new Coen brothers movie)

This weekend I went to see "No Country for Old Men" (the new movie by the Coen brothers). Dont worry I'm not going to spoil the film, instead I want to discuss a particular resonance between screen and audience which occured from my perspective. Since I went to the movie on opening night, the theater was crowded (nearly sold out I would say). A middle aged woman sat to my left and my movie-going friend sat to my right. Unlike most experiences I've had at the movie theater, I was acutely aware of both my right and left spectator throughout the entire movie. Why? My hypothesis is that the constant onscreen angst presented in the movie transfered directly into the physical body and consciousness of the spectator. Unlike most movies, "No Country for Old Men" is two hours of pure suspense and existential angst; the spectator is presented with a screen scenario in which any character could die at any moment. Not only is the spectator aware of this predicament, but so are the filmic characters. Therefore, the specatators to my left and right (and myself) were constantly on the edge of thier seats: jumping at every gunshot, cringing at the needles, nearly crying out at the helplessness of the characters. Thus, the chorus of spectators perfectly mirrored the helplessness of the characters. The spectator embodied this helplessness, this angst, this fear of sudden death, not only because the screen presented such a powerful antinarrative, but because the truth of the film is far too real to be ignored. Whereas a typical film will give you the illusion of reality, this film presents you with the ultimate reality: the uncertainty of death.