Plot Patrol
Plot Patrol is the ultimate ride-along for film fans who love a good cop story. Whether it’s gritty realism, pulpy thrills, or gloriously bad procedural nonsense. Host Duncan McCauley takes the badge and the popcorn in hand, breaking down famous detective dramas and crime thrillers with the help of real-life officers, legal experts, and the occasional smart-mouthed cinephile.
Each episode, we put a movie or TV show under investigative scrutiny, asking the big questions: Would this arrest hold up in court? How much paperwork would this take? And how does this loose cannon still have a job?
From Zodiac to Hot Fuzz, True Detective to The Wicker Man, Plot Patrol blends sharp analysis, wry humor, and behind-the-scenes insight to separate fact from fiction in the world of on-screen crime.
Plot Patrol
Episode 5: No Country for Old Men: When the Law Stops Making Sense
This week on Plot Patrol, Duncan McCauley heads into the dust and silence of the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men, a film less concerned with catching the bad guy than with what happens when the law can’t keep up with the world it’s meant to protect.
Joining Duncan is former Texas Sheriff Earl Watkins, who brings real-world experience from policing vast rural counties where help is far away, violence arrives without warning, and not every story ends in handcuffs. Together, they examine the quiet realism of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, the unnerving calm of Anton Chigurh, and the moment Llewelyn Moss crosses the line from unlucky civilian to criminal suspect.
A slow-burning conversation about aging, morality, and what happens when the rules stop working.
Stay suspicious.