Sunset Limited, The (2011)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Thought-provoking drama about a black religious man (Samuel L. Jackson) who stops a white atheist (Tommy Lee Jones) from killing himself. Later that day the two men find themselves inside the black man's ghetto apartment where they share stories about their past as well as their different views on religion, life and death. This film is based on the Cormac McCarthy play of the same name but I had no idea what the film was about. I basically went into this thing based on the reputations of Jackson and Jones and the end results was a movie that makes you think and that's pretty rare these days. The film runs just under 90-minutes and we only have two different characters who are trying to figure out the other. The only thing that brought these men together was Jones' attempted suicide and Jackson being there to save him. I must admit that the film was extremely deep and it's probably going to be hard for most to gather everything with just one viewing but the opinions brought up from both characters will probably stay with most for a very long time. The screenplay by McCarthy does a terrific job at bouncing back and forth between various subjects. Throughout the dialogue we learn about both men and we get various bits and pieces as the film moves along. We learn that Jackson was in prison where he nearly beat a man into becoming a deformed cripple but this wasn't the worst thing he has done in his life. We learn that Jones hated his parents and doesn't have a single friend. The film takes basic set-ups like these and takes them into so many directions that you can't help but hang onto every word that's spoken and can't wait to see where it leads. The discussion of religion is one of the most frank conversations I've ever heard. Jackson's very passionate about God and his reasons make sense. Jones, on the other hand, is very passionate that there isn't anything out there and his reasons also make sense. The film doesn't try to say which person is right or why the other is wrong. Instead we're given two characters with different opinions and that's what makes the story work so well. Both Jackson and Jones do splendid work and there's no question that both give some of the best performances we're going to see in 2011. Jackson has the louder role and there's no one better when it comes to giving passionate line reading. Jones has mostly a quiet part but he says so much with that wonderful face of his that you can feel his pain even when he isn't saying anything. Both men do a terrific job together and what I enjoyed most is how their acting towards one another changed as the film moved along and as their characters became more familiar and comfortable with the other. The film asks a lot of questions and if you're looking for answers then you might be disappointed. The movie makes the right choice of not trying to answer everything but instead it just throws ideas out there and forces the viewer to make up their own mind. This is a complicated little movie but it's a real gem and Jones does a very good job bringing it to life.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Thought-provoking drama about a black religious man (Samuel L. Jackson) who stops a white atheist (Tommy Lee Jones) from killing himself. Later that day the two men find themselves inside the black man's ghetto apartment where they share stories about their past as well as their different views on religion, life and death. This film is based on the Cormac McCarthy play of the same name but I had no idea what the film was about. I basically went into this thing based on the reputations of Jackson and Jones and the end results was a movie that makes you think and that's pretty rare these days. The film runs just under 90-minutes and we only have two different characters who are trying to figure out the other. The only thing that brought these men together was Jones' attempted suicide and Jackson being there to save him. I must admit that the film was extremely deep and it's probably going to be hard for most to gather everything with just one viewing but the opinions brought up from both characters will probably stay with most for a very long time. The screenplay by McCarthy does a terrific job at bouncing back and forth between various subjects. Throughout the dialogue we learn about both men and we get various bits and pieces as the film moves along. We learn that Jackson was in prison where he nearly beat a man into becoming a deformed cripple but this wasn't the worst thing he has done in his life. We learn that Jones hated his parents and doesn't have a single friend. The film takes basic set-ups like these and takes them into so many directions that you can't help but hang onto every word that's spoken and can't wait to see where it leads. The discussion of religion is one of the most frank conversations I've ever heard. Jackson's very passionate about God and his reasons make sense. Jones, on the other hand, is very passionate that there isn't anything out there and his reasons also make sense. The film doesn't try to say which person is right or why the other is wrong. Instead we're given two characters with different opinions and that's what makes the story work so well. Both Jackson and Jones do splendid work and there's no question that both give some of the best performances we're going to see in 2011. Jackson has the louder role and there's no one better when it comes to giving passionate line reading. Jones has mostly a quiet part but he says so much with that wonderful face of his that you can feel his pain even when he isn't saying anything. Both men do a terrific job together and what I enjoyed most is how their acting towards one another changed as the film moved along and as their characters became more familiar and comfortable with the other. The film asks a lot of questions and if you're looking for answers then you might be disappointed. The movie makes the right choice of not trying to answer everything but instead it just throws ideas out there and forces the viewer to make up their own mind. This is a complicated little movie but it's a real gem and Jones does a very good job bringing it to life.