15 Totally Flawless Movie Monologues
4. Then I Woke Up - No Country For Old Men (2007)
No Country For Old Men's ending is one of the most daring and rule-breaking finales in cinema. The film follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who's stolen some money from a drug deal gone wrong, and the psychopathic assassin (Javier Bardem) on his tail.
In the background stands aging Sheriff Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a man clearly at odds with his role in the world and the growing injustice around him.
Throughout the moody thriller it looks as though Moss is going to clash with the horrifying Anton Chigurh - which they briefly do - only the big final showdown never comes. Moss is killed off-screen, and Chigurh escapes justice once more.
So, instead of an explosive final stretch, we get Ed Bell, sat at home with his wife (Tess Harper), contemplating two dreams he had featuring his father, both of which symbolise his inevitable death and life's uncertainty now that he's retired.
The monologue - and the film - ends with Bell saying: "Then I woke up." He's not done just yet, but he's also going to spend the rest of his life conflicted about the world and his place in it. Damn.