Review of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) by Adam W — 05 Mar 2010

Tommy Lee Jones proves a very assured hand in his debut as director. That he delivers one of his trademark "I'm too old for this shit" performances is to be expected - its pitched exactly where "No Country..." and "In The Valley..." were, and why not - he's perfect for the role.

He is a very natural director - scenes are framed beautifully, colours are often used in very interesting ways and he doesn't resort to flashy techniques to announce his arrival as Mr. Megaphone. Where he does make some rather more bold and interesting decisions is in the editing, begining the film with some often jarring falshback, jump forward editing and even employes chapter title cards which lend the film an oldfashined, almost quirky feel.

Despite its leisurely pace, Jones manages to inject some gallows-humor along the way - think A Weekend At Bernies: The Western, but in a good way.

His ensemble cast hit all the right notes - adding levity to a dour story when needed, in particular, Dwight Yoakam and Melissa Leo, and some quite tender scenes elswhere with Ignacio Guadalupe and January Jones.

The man of the match award has to go to Barry Pepper who's Mike gets put through the physical and emotional wringer, pushed, pulled and punched from pillar to post and Pepper infuses him with enough redneck bile and hapless fallguy for you to never fully make your mind up on him until the very end. And its a great last line.