Cormac and the Coens

Word has it that the Coen Brothers are in final negotiations to make a film version of No Country for Old Men. McCarthy's novel is humorless. Can we even stretch to call it dark comedy? No, even that isn't the right description. The Coens make great comedies. What will they do with this novel? I haven't seen their film Miller's Crossing in a long time. But what I remember of it suggests to me that they may have made a good choice of No Country for Old Men. They're capable of giving this novel the treatment it merits--but it will be a challenge for them. Some time ago they considered filming James Dickey's novel To the White Sea--another humorless book, a grim and violent book. The Coens have what some regard as a nihilist vision of the world. McCarthy is no nihilist. He is a pessimist, though some of his characters may be nihilists. It will be interesting to see what comes of this pairing--the Coen brothers and Cormac McCarthy.