Tommy
Lee Jones directing effort worth viewing
By
Raj Nair
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” is the second film Tommy
Lee Jones has directed, and it’s his first film to be released in theaters.
The film comes 10 years after his first TV film, “The Good Old Boys.” The “Three
Burials of Melquiades Estrada” stars Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio
Cedillo and January in a film about friendship, a promise made and kept, vigilante
justice and an involuntary quest for redemption.
“
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” is set on the border between
West Texas and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico.
Jones grew up in West Texas and owned a cattle ranch, so he is familiar with
the area and lifestyle. Pete Perkins (Jones), a ranch foreman, meets an illegal
immigrant named Melquiades Estrada (Cedilla). He gives Estrada a job and they
become good friends. Melquiades is accidentally killed by border patrolman
Mike Norton (Pepper). His body is found in the desert, but because he is a “wetback,” no
efforts are made to find his killer and he is given a quick funeral.
Pete remembers a promise he made to his friend: If Melquiades should ever die
in Texas, Pete would have him buried in his hometown in Mexico. Pete does some
investigating and finds out who killed his friend. He has his friend’s
corpse exhumed from its grave and goes on a journey that serves the purpose
of killing two birds with one stone.
He kidnaps Norton and drags him along on the journey for a reason slowly explained
during the film. The two of them, along with some horses and a mule, carry
the corpse on the most ironic of adventures by illegally crossing the border
into Mexico.
The selling points of the film are the performances by Jones and Pepper. They
play three-dimensional characters and the audience really feels for them by
the end of the film. Early in the film, Norton is a vile person. He does some
cruel things, and it seems like his character cannot be redeemed. But as time
goes by, and he endures trials in the desert that take a toll on him physically
and emotionally, the audience actually begins to feel sorry for him. His performance
sends him through a spectrum of emotions, and it culminates with the arguable
redemption of his character.
That is one of the great parts about the film: it is never black and white.
There is nothing that clearly identifies right from wrong, so it really forces
one to think.
Pete is the protagonist, but at some points he takes things too far. His reasoning
and extreme means of abducting Norton are questionable. He seems confused,
but that is part of what makes his performance so great.
The journey through the desert proves to be harsh, but the film manages to
squeeze disturbing comedy into it. You cannot expect a couple of guys to carry
a corpse through the desert and not make jokes about it.
The journey into Mexico, as interesting as it was, dragged on too long. There
are points that seem to slow the movie down. That is the movie’s biggest
problem. The director tries to solve the problem by cutting into flashbacks
every now and then, to help expand on the friendship between Pete and Melquiades.
Overall the film does a great job. It does not take a political stance on immigration.
It simply tells a story that leaves the audience wondering about things like
racism, death, inhumanity, redemption and friendship. I give it four out of
five stars.
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