The Sunset Limited (2011)

Directed by Tommy Lee Jones
Starring Jones and Samuel L. Jackson
Runtime 91min. - Not Rated
3 Stars (out of 4)

Here's a film based on a play by Cormac McCarthy, the writer of "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men". This is a sharp turn from those two novels/movies, but it does have in common a grim view of the human condition.

The film has only two actors, Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. Their names are never given, they are only credited as "White" and "Black". I'll give you one guess which actor is black and which is white. The trailer gave me the idea that this was to be a classic battle between an atheist (Jones) and a believer (Jackson). In truth, its more of a "minimalist vs. nihilist" battle.


The balance in this film is skewed for the first hour of the film. Sam Jackson controls the screen as he pounds religious anecdotes into the brain of his visitor while also regaling him with stories of his time in prison. Oh I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that Sam Jackson's character is a ex-con who beat other inmates until they were physically and mentally disabled while he was in prison?: Well he was in prison for murder so I guess the other violence shouldn't be surprising. He was healing from knife wounds sustained in a prison fight when, you guessed it, GOD spoke to him. Then he started a prison ministry, got released, and now lives his life helping junkies in his nearly empty city apartment. So while Jackson's character is winning the battle for the first hour, he's not exactly giving christians a good name.

Throughout all the rants Jones only occasionally defends himself. Just before the film starts, his character was jumping in front of a train, the Sunset Limited. He thought there was no one watching but Jackson appeared out of nowhere to save him. Jones gives a momentary thought to the idea his savior is actually supernatural. An angel perhaps? Jackson finds this funny and soon the idea is squashed. I suppose Jones' character stays quiet for so long because he feels like he owes Jackson. They have some dinner and Jones occasionally posits some elegantly scientific reason why his life is completely meaningless. You start to slowly realize that Jones' character isn't just an atheist, but he's a depressed, self-loathing nihilist. He's the kind of person who believes that intelligence and happiness aren't compatible. This leads to the best line of the movie by Jackson, "If I’m understandin you right you sayin that everbody that aint just eat up with the dumb-ass ought to be suicidal."

Like a slow crescendo Jones builds up steam to the point of mechanical breakdown. He unleashes one of the darkest and most depressing monologues that cinema has ever known. At this point Jackson is crying and shaking his head in frustration. Both men give up. White leaves the apartment to presumably to continue his quest for Hara-kiri via train. Black spends some time yelling at god and asking him why he wasn't given the strength to save White, while reassuring god that he won't hold it against him.

This movie is good. Jones and Jackson are probably the only two actors that could pull this off. At times, Black is so animated that you think you're watching an action flick. This film never left me bored, which is pretty good for a movie with two actors who never leave a room.

What I didn't like was the portrayal of atheists/agnostics. We're not all self-loathing defeatists. Its possible to find happiness and meaning without the need for a big man in the sky. However, the representation of christians wasn't so great either. I don't believe all christians are murderous ex-cons who use religion as circumstantial evidence of their supposed reformation.

I have realized it's better to think of this movie without a broad interpretation. Its just two unique individuals discussing their own unique views on life. If you can accept this movie at face value, you will enjoy it, no matter what your beliefs.