Directed by:
Tommy Lee JonesCinematography:
Paul ElliottComposer:
Marco BeltramiPlots(1)
The Sunset Limited is a searing, two character drama that mixes humor and pathos while examining the relationship between two strangers who are brought together by desperate circumstances. The story focuses on two very different men – a deeply religious black ex-con (Samuel L. Jackson) who thwarts the suicide attempt of an asocial white college professor (Tommy Lee Jones), who tried to throw himself in front of an oncoming subway train, the Sunset Limited. As the one attempts to connect on a rational, spiritual and emotional level, the other remains steadfast in his hard-earned despair. As their philosophical debate progresses, each spar passionately to defend their personal credo and convert the other. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
It's not a pessimism of life; according to Cormac McCarthy (probably the best living writer in America), that’s just the way the world is. It's seen through the lens of two aging men who have made their way through it, only to meet in the apartment of one of them and engage in a conversation about how it's not easy to remain here. For some, it is perhaps a cheap lament and (cinematic) disappointment but for me, it is the honest confession of a man whose age allows him to become a philosopher in this particular way, and it’s also an experience of a spiritual dimension.
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Disappointing, but high quality nevertheless. Even though he's the best living American writer, that doesn't mean he's also a good playwright. Leave McCarthy to his refined dialog about something, and you have damn good dialog about something, but you don't have anything besides that. You don't have the cake upon which these dialogs would be the icing. And there are too few really strong moments such as Jones' final monolog, for example. Moreover, if you translate it into a form that would be too static even for a radio play (yes, I realize that it is an adaptation of a minimalist theatrical play) and which would benefit here and there from working with silence amid the flood of all those great words, then... Well, see the first sentence of this review.
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Yesterday we were sitting around the table and we came to a point where topics for conversation dried up. Shame I hadn’t seen this movie before that. Sunset Limited is mainly about keeping the conversation going. One big truth emerges here... you can talk if you want. And the struggle between the reality world and faith in God might be a devilishly interesting topic of conversation. Especially if it’s a conversation between two acting aces like Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, who take their trade to the outer limits. In places it gets hard to hold your attention, but this isn’t because the words being said become any less powerful. It’s just that there are so many thoughts and feelings flying about here that one viewing just isn’t enough. Maybe you’ll need to watch it more than twice.
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