Review of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) by Andrew F — 04 Mar 2008

It's a good movie that I really wish was great. It is a bit deliberately paced, but that's not really a problem given the sort of gritty, sprawling westerns from which Three Burials is derived. It's got the perfect tone and scope, and Tommy Lee Jones makes for a competent director who seems to have a lot on its mind. The story itself is a compelling one, which doesn't offer any cheap or easy resolution. The performances also feel natural, especially Dwight Yoakam.

And yet...something about it feels very "off" to me. It's not the stranger touches, which serve the film well and help it stand out. It's not the hard, complicated or downright unlikeable characters. It's not the gruesome fixation on showing Mel at various stages of decomposition. There's just something very shaky about the earliest establishing scenes that makes me wonder if it was shot in sequence, with Jones really falling into step as time went on. The problem wears off over time, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth throughout. A noble effort, though.