Filmgoers didn't seem too interested in Ridley Scott's latest film, The Counselor, which finished fourth at the box office this past weekend. But I think it provides plenty to write about.
Obviously, there's the film itself. Is it any good? It's pretty good. Neither the story or characters are clear or compelling enough for it to be considered great. Scott and screenwriter Cormac McCarthy are a bit too in love with their dialogue and I think it prevented the conversations from feeling authentic. People talk in ambiguities and circles in far too many scenes. If you enjoy the tension of waiting for someone to be killed and watching people die horribly, you might dig this movie.
But what really intrigued me about The Counselor was Javier Bardem's hair. Since wearing a mop-top haircut as ruthless killer Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, Bardem has continued to make bold choices with his characters' hair. For a man with a great, thick head of hair, this seems particularly daring. But his willingness to sport bad hairdos may have started even before he played Chigurh. Apparently, the man finds his characters through their hair.
Following the jump are five of Bardem's most notable cinematic haircuts and the performances that accompanied them.
The Counselor (2013) — Reiner: Bardem looks ridiculous with long, spiky hair inspired by Hollywood mega-producer Brian Grazer. (I can only assume this is the true meaning of power in Hollywood. Grazer has an absurd haircut for someone in his position and of his age, yet he's so influential that no one is likely to tell him he looks silly.) But the hairdo fits his character, a drug dealer with lavish, flamboyant tastes who decorates his nightclubs and home garishly.
Reiner also dresses loudly, like someone demanding attention. Maybe he's trying too hard to keep the affections of Cameron Diaz's Malkina, who could seemingly get any man she wants. Diaz will be most remembered in this movie for having sex with Reiner's Ferrari. Perhaps it would've been funnier if his hair spiked up after this incident. As it is, Reiner's reaction — one of arousal, fear and disgust — as he's recounting this to Michael Fassbender's title character makes for one of the best scenes in the movie. If people talk about The Counselor years from now, it will be because of this.
Collateral (2004) — Felix: In terms of hair choices, Collateral is probably better known for Tom Cruise's silver-fox look and Mark Ruffalo's greasy slickback. But Bardem was only a few years removed from his Oscar-nominated portrayal of gay Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, a role in which he had some great hair. Maybe Bardem wanted to show he could play a tough guy, so was willing to take a buzzcut and shear off those lustrous locks to play a Los Angeles drug lord. Just like the haircut, Bardem's performance is short, tight and focused.
No Country for Old Men (2007) — Anton Chigurh: This is Bardem's most renowned haircut, and not just because it won him an Academy Award. The juxtaposition of a fearsome, unstoppable killer wearing a near-bowl cut that belongs on a school boy, Prince Valiant or one of the Beatles makes Chigurh even more terrifying. Does he realize how silly he looks? Would anyone dare tell him? Does the mop top indicate a softer side to this hitman? Or does he just want to unsettle everyone so they know not to mess with him?
Bardem famously lamented that he wouldn't get laid for three months while making this film and wearing Chigurh's haircut. Does anyone believe that? He's Javier Bardem! Feeling how uneasy the mop-top made people and how uncomfortable it surely made him must have fueled his performance, making him want to go to the set and kill someone. Never again will a mop-top seem more fearsome. We got one of the all-time great screen villains thanks to that haircut, Friendo.
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) — Florentino Ariza: Bardem has to have great hair in this film because he plays a character who sleeps with over 600 women in an attempt to get over the woman he truly loves marrying another man. Since we follow his character over the course of more than 50 years, we get to see the progression of his hair as he ages. When his unrequited love becomes a widow, Ariza gets a chance to win her back. He may be old and bald, but he still wants what he wants and does the best he can with the hair still remaining on his head.
Skyfall (2012) — Silva: The actors who have played James Bond villains haven't always been marquee stars (though names like Telly Savalas, Christopher Walken, Robert Carlyle and Mads Mikkelsen are among them). Bardem changed that, giving Daniel Craig a truly formidable opponent, one who commanded as much screen presence as Bond. By doing so, he raised the stakes of the story and added prestige to a film franchise that has been cheesy in the past, but certainly not in recent years.
Bardem again risks looking silly, bleaching his hair blonde in what probably isn't a good look for a Spanish man. But his character, Silva, obviously thinks it suits him fine. One might not guess that he's a former MI6 agent and devious terrorist who's almost Bond's warped mirror image.
Perhaps the hair (and matching eyebrows) is a hint to his sexuality as well, something that he attempts to unnerve the manly Bond with during an interrogation. Does Silva actually swing that way? Maybe, maybe not. But he definitely makes Bond (and us, as viewers) uncomfortable by getting a bit too intimate with him. Agent 007 has never had a better adversary.
