The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/15/08 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Directed and starring Tommy Lee Jones, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada tells the story of an aging cowboy who discovers the body of his dead immigrant friend as he captures his killer and take him on a long, horseback journey from Texas to Mexico to bury the body. Written by Guillermo Arriaga, the writer of films like Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and Babel for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The film is a part western, part-journey that is also inspired by the story of Don Quixote. Also starring Barry Pepper, Julio Cedello, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones, Melissa Leo, Vanessa Bauche, Cecilia Suarez, and Levon Helm. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is an enchanting yet haunting film from Tommy Lee Jones and company.

Herding goats near the Texas-Mexico border is a man named Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cedello) where he shoots at a coyote as the two gunshots are heard by a new border patrolman named Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) who shoots Estrada to death and later buries him. After Estrada's body is found by patrolmen, local sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam) calls Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) to reveal that Estrada is found dead as Perkins asks Belmont who killed Estradas as he would recall the times he met Estrada where they became friends. Particularly when they out with a couple of women including Pete's married girlfriend Rachel (Melissa Leo) who is also having an affair with Belmont. Meanwhile, Mike Norton is dealing with his troubled marriage to Lou Ann (January Jones) who feels bored by her new surroundings despite finding a friend in Rachel where she went on a double-date with Pete and Melquiades some time ago. Mike's new job as a border patrolman has become troubled due his violent attitude towards Mexican where he becomes distant following Estrada's death. 

After Belmont buries Estrada at another place, Rachel reveals to Pete that Mike Norton is the one who killed Estrada. When Belmont refuses Pete's request to arrest Norton due to issues with the border patrol, Pete decides to take matters into his own hands by breaking into the Nortons' home trailer where he ties up Lou Ann and kidnaps Mike. Forcing Mike to dig Estrada's body, Pete decides to make a vow to bury his friend at his birth home of Jiminez, Mexico as he also takes Mike on a treacherous journey on horseback as an act of revenge. While Belmont decides to go after Pete, pete is at the other side of the mountains forcing Belmont to let the border patrol and its Captain Gomez (Mel Rodriguez) to handle things but they're unable to capture Pete and Mike. Back in Texas, Lou Ann makes a decision about her marriage as she reveals to Rachel what she will do. With the journey to Mexico where Pete and Mike later encounter a blind man (Levon Helm), Mike tries to escape where he gets bitten by a rattlesnake as he's later saved by a group of U.S. bound Mexicans led by Lucio (Ignacio Guadalupe) to a small town where Pete also arrives at the town. 

At the town, Mike is treated by a woman named Mariana (Vanessa Bauche) whose nose Mike had broken weeks ago while Pete makes a call to Rachel to come to Mexico and get married. Melancholia eventually seeps into both Pete and Mike as they continue towards their journey to Jiminez as many locals claim the place doesn't exist. Finally meeting a woman (Cecilia Suarez) Pete thinks is Melquiades' wife, Pete wonders if everything his friend had said is true or not as he and Mike try to find the place called Jiminez.

The film is essentially about a man vowing to keep a promise to a friend of his while seeking justice and honor in his death. The character of Pete Perkins is someone who is seeking companionship in his lonely life whether it's through a married woman like Rachel or his friend Melquiades Estrada. When Melquiades is taken away, he tries to seek justice by capturing a man as ignorant as Mike Norton. When Norton becomes a prisoner, he is being punished not just physically but also emotionally and mentally as he goes on his own personal journey about himself.

Director Tommy Lee Jones and writer Guillermo Arriaga create a unique structure to the film to the film. Especially with Arriaga's unique narrative style as he separates the film into four parts. The first half is told through flashbacks and present time back and forth about the first two burials of Melquiades Estrada and Perkins seeking justice. The second half of the film involves the journey and the people back in Texas that concludes with the third and final burial of Melquiades Estrada. The film also involves a melancholic tone as Perkins tries to deal with his own alienation following Estrada's death as he tries to take care of his body as its decaying while being eaten by ants and such. The theme of alienation is very prevalent not just in Perkins but also the supporting characters as they all deal with boredom in this little Texan town with Lou Ann couldn't cope with living in small town Texas despite her friendship with Rachel.

Jones' direction works to convey the tone of fantasy and reality with that ode to Man of La Mancha where Jones' character is Don Quixote and Mike Norton is Sancho Panza. The location in Texas is truly inspiring as Jones uses it to great heights from its mountains to its beautiful scenery of water and desert truly gives the film a worldly feel. Jones' approach to the ending might seem baffling to some audience but again, it's him delving into a kind of realism mixed in with fantasy relating to Perkins. Jones use of compositions, scenery, and themes to convey the film is truly magnificent as it shows that he has a great future in being a director.

Cinematographer Chris Menges does some amazing work in the use of exteriors from the skylines to the dark, moody nighttime scenes to convey the film's melancholic mood. The interiors are also wonderful from the blue-green look of the diner Rachel works at to the Mexican bar mixed in with red lights and blue that Perkins is in to call Rachel. Menges' cinematography is astonishing as is his shots of the Texan mountains and hills. Editor Roberto Silvi does an excellent job with the film's present-day/flashback cutting to give the film a nice, unique pacing that works to convey the film's first half while the second half is more straightforward and intense. Production designer Merideth Boswell and art director Jeff Knipp do an amazing job in creating the look of the homes and places that Perkins and Norton go into, notably a cantina that is filled with wonderful lights and such.

Costume designer Kathy Kiatta does a fantastic job in the look of the costumes from the men's clothing filled with belts, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats to the dresses of the women as well as casual gear that is filled with wonderful colors. Sound recordist Loic Gourbe and mixer Mark Weingarten do a wonderful job in capturing the atmosphere of each location shot as well as the sounds of gunshots and animals in the desert. The film's music by composer Marco Beltrami is amazing in its understated tone with the use of acoustic instruments that has an intensity in the guitars to convey a feel of the western. Beltrami's score also does well in the suspense and melancholia as it's another highlight of the film. The soundtrack mostly consists of country classics by Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr., Freddy Fender, Roger Miller, and Dwight Yoakam as well as some Mexican, ranchero music.

The film's cast assembled by Jeanne McCarthy is wonderfully superb with small performances from screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga as a cowboy whom Perkins and Norton run into, Rene Campero as a local Don who Perkins talks to if he knew Melquiades, Celia Suarez as a woman who Perkins thinks is Melquiades' wife, and Vanessa Bauche as Mariana, a woman whom Mike had broken her nose during an immigration chase who would later return the favor. Ignacio Guadalupe is good as Lucio, a Mexican who accompanies Perkins and Norton to town while befriending the old cowboy. Mel Rodriguez is also good as border patrol captain Gomez who tries to control Mike while doing his job to try and capture Perkins. Legendary drummer for the Band, Levon Helm is amazing as a blind man who takes Perkins and Norton for dinner and company as he asks them a favor that is morally wrong that neither are wanting to do.

Melissa Leo is excellent as Rachel, a married woman who has numerous affairs with both sheriff Belmont and Perkins as she tries to keep the young Lou Ann company while being confused in her affairs while January Jones is pretty good as the neglected and lost Lou Ann. Julio Cedello is great in his small role as Melquiades Estrada who is just a simple man that becomes the unwittingly victim of his own death while his body is being carried around in a treacherous journey.

Country singer Dwight Yoakam is excellent as the cantankerous Sheriff Belmont who has a real dislike towards Perkins while trying to maintain his role as sheriff only to find comfort in Rachel. Barry Pepper is brilliant in his role as Mike Norton, an angry, naive, ignorant man who has committed murder only to be dragged and tortured physically and emotionally into a journey as he tries to seek redemption and understanding. Pepper's performance is a real highlight as he endures many physical and mental challenges for his character while being a great foil for Jones.

Then there's Tommy Lee Jones in one of his finest performances yet. In his role as a laconic, melancholic rancher is just amazing to watch as Jones' understated, minimalist performance is shown a wide range of emotion and humor as he plays a man trying to make a promise. Jones also brings a wonderful presence to his character as if he is Don Quixote that makes his performance more worldly and grand as it's a great character for the actor to play.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a truly superb film from Tommy Lee Jones and writer Guillermo Arriaga with a great cast led by Jones and Barry Pepper. With a wonderful supporting cast that includes Melissa Leo, Dwight Yoakam, and the late Levon Helm, it's a very unique and exotic film that plays into the world of the western and its theme of redemption. Fans of Jones' acting will no doubt consider this one of his finest work as well as be surprised by what he's able to do as a filmmaker. So in the end, for anyone that wants a mesmerizing western mixed in with fantasy, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is the film to see.

(C) thevoid99 2012

X-Men: First Class

When the X-Men film franchise arrived in 2000 under the direction of Bryan Singer, the first film helped created a new wave of films based on comic book-created superheroes. 2003’s sequel X2: X-Men United was considered to be the best of the franchise as Singer brought more legitimacy to the franchise. Then, Singer left to do 2006’s Superman Returns as the franchise was taken over by Brett Ratner for 2006’s X-Men 3: The Last Stand which drew very mixed reviews from fans and critics. Then came 2009’s prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine that many considered to be the worst as a planned origins story on Magneto was scrapped in favor of another origins story about Magneto’s friendship with Charles Xavier for X-Men: First Class.

X-Men: First Class tells the story of how Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto and Charles Xavier/Professor X first met along with the formation of the X-Men and how their relationship dissolved as the whole film is set primarily in the 1960s. Helming the film is Matthew Vaughn of Layer Cake and Kick-Ass fame as he co-writes the script with longtime collaborator Jane Goldman along with Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz that is based on a story from Bryan Singer and Sheldon Turner. The film is a part origins story about Xavier and Lehnsherr but also introduces mutants that would be part of the series. Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Oliver Platt, Zoe Kravitz, Jason Flemying, and Kevin Bacon. X-Men: First Class is a good and entertaining film from Matthew Vaughn.

It’s the 1960s as the Cold War is brewing as Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) is planning to get World War III started by convincing Colonel Hendry (Glenn Morshower) to put missiles in Turkey. Yet, Shaw’s real name is Schmidt who had been a German professor during World War II as a man named Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is trying to find him. Meanwhile in England, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) has graduated from Oxford as he’s joined by his adopted sister Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) where they meet a CIA agent named Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) who asks for their help against Shaw. During a failed attack against Shaw’s ship, Charles meets Erik who had been trying to attack Shaw.

While CIA director McCone (Matt Craven) isn’t sure about using mutants to battle against the energy-absorbing Shaw. He ask MacTaggert and another agent (Oliver Platt) to aid Xavier to get things ready against Shaw with help from Lensherr and Raven as they meet Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) who has feet different from humans. McCoy introduces Xavier and Lensherr to new gadgets including a machine called Cerebro to increase Xavier’s telepathy as he tracks down mutants to join their team. After the search, Xavier and Lensherr along with MacTaggert go to the Soviet Union to see if Shaw would arrive to meet with a general only to realize that he sent one of his aides in Emma Frost (January Jones). Shaw meanwhile, stages an attack with his henchman Azazel (Jason Flemyng) and Riptide (Alex Gonzalez) on the CIA to gain the mutants that Xavier and Lensherr recruited.

After Frost’s capture and learning what Shaw did, Xavier decided to move the operations to his home as he and Lensherr decide to teach Raven, Hank, Sean Cassidy (Caleb Landry Jones) and Alex Summers (Lucas Till) to prepare them for battle. With Hank trying to make a cure that would keep mutant abilities but make them look human, he tries it on himself which ends up looking more mutant. Xavier learns about Erik’s past as he tries to get him to reason as they start to battle Shaw and his team to prevent World War III from happening in Cuba. Even as the battle would eventually lead to the division between Xavier and Lensherr.

The film is essentially an origins story of sort about both Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier in how they lived different lives and why they are the different men that originally formed the group that would become the X-Men. At the same time, it allows the story to learn where Cerebro came from and why Xavier used the house he lived in as a school. While that’s part of the story of the film, it also allows the film to get into stories such as Lensherr’s past in the Holocaust as well as introducing characters such as Mystique, Beast, and MacTaggert as how they played part into the X-Men lore. The problem with the script is that there’s so much told in the film but not enough to simplify things.

The screenplay does have some characters such as Raven, Hank, Moira, Shaw, Charles, and Erik that got things to do and fully-realized. Yet, there was also some that didn’t get fully developed as there were too many characters in the film to kind of follow. Some appear and then they’re gone while the Emma Frost character is really very dull. While setting the film during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis isn’t a bad idea and there wasn’t too much exposition in the film. That use of historical elements mixed in with the story and all of these characters create something that is too much without a central focus which should’ve been solely on Xavier and Lensherr.

Matthew Vaughn’s direction has some excellent moments though it has things that many blockbuster film audiences have seen before. Still, Vaughn manages to cram some humor into the film that includes a cameo by a future X-Men. Vaughn does create some exciting action sequences while his real strength in his direction is in the more intimate scenes involving Charles and Erik. He doesn’t have to do much and let the actors act as it features Vaughn doing what he does best. Yet, due to the script’s lack of cohesiveness and Vaughn wanting to incorporate many different genres into the film. Vaughn isn’t able to make things simpler while giving in to clichés with some things in the film. Overall, Vaughn does manage to make something that is entertaining but doesn’t do enough to make it stand out with the rest of the films in the X-Men franchise.

Cinematographer John Mathieson does some good work with the photography that includes some excellent moments such as the stylish lights at nightclub where Erik and Charles interview a mutant along with the blue-lights that surrounded Shaw‘s submarine reactor. Editors Eddie Hamilton and Lee Smith do a fine job with the editing that includes a wonderful montage scene of the mutants in training. Production designer Chris Seagers, along with set decorators Erin Boyd and Sonja Klaus and art director John King do a very good job with the look of Shaw‘s sub along with the clubs of the 1960s and the early versions of Cerebro and the X-plane.

Costume designer Sammy Sheldon does a nice job with the costumes from the 60s-style clothing the women wear including the lingerie to the early X-Men suits the team wears for the climatic battle scene. Visual effects supervisor Guy Williams does some excellent work for the visual effects moments such as Raven and Emma Frost changing form or Azazel popping up every now again as a teleporter. Sound designer Craig Berkey does some wonderful work with the sound such as the sound of rockets firing and cannons exploding to the chaos that goes on during the climatic battle scene. The film’s score by Henry Jackman is pretty good as its orchestral flair plays up to the drama and action moments of the film. Even as it has a bit of a 60s vibe to the music which features some songs from the early 1960s.

The casting by Roger Mussenden, Jeremy Rich, and Lucinda Syson has some inspiring moments as it features some appearances from Michael Ironside as a U.S. Navy captain, James Remar as a U.S. general, Ray Wise as a U.S. secretary Rade Sherbedgia as a Russian general, Don Creech as Col. William Stryker, and a couple of cameos from previous players of the X-Men films. Morgan Lilly, Laurence Belcher, and Bill Milner are very good as the young versions of Raven, Charles, and Erik, respectively as is Glenn Morshower as Col. Hendry and Matt Craven as the CIA director.

Jason Flemyng and Alex Gonzalez are OK in their respective roles as the villains Azazel and Riptide though they don’t get much to do other than be bad and fight. Edi Gathegi is OK as the good mutant Darwin as he only appears briefly as does Oliver Platt in a small role as a CIA agent. Zoe Kravitz has her moments as Angel though she doesn’t get much to do either other than fly and be sexy. Caleb Landry Jones and Lucas Till are very good in their respective roles as Sean Cassidy/Banshee and Alex Summers/Havok as they get to have a few funny lines. The film’s worst performance easily goes to January Jones as Emma Frost as Jones does nothing but look sexy and read lines as the only highlight in her performance is her lovely cleavage.

Rose Byrne is very good as Moira MacTaggart, the CIA agent who becomes part of the X-Men team as well as being a love interest of sorts for Xavier. Byrne plays it straight for most of the film as she does get a few funny moments including a great scene where she looks amazing in lingerie. Nicholas Hoult is also good as Hank McCoy/Beast who is a young scientist who helps develop future X-Men inventions while trying to find a cure to normalize the mutant gene as he eventually embraces his mutant role. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent as Raven/Mystique, a young woman wanting to fit in as she is torn between the two ideologies of Charles and Erik while befriending Hank. Kevin Bacon is superb as Sebastian Shaw, the film’s main antagonist as Bacon gets a chance to flex his language skills while be a charming villain who can be manipulative and cool.

The film’s best performances definitely go to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. In the role of Charles Xavier/Professor X, McAvoy brings some humor to the character while being the man who pleads for peace and understanding. McAvoy brings a calm approach to his performance as he is also the most nurturing teacher of the X-Men team. For the role of Erik Lensherr/Magneto, Fassbender brings a more menacing quality as a man seeking revenge as he is the opposite of Xavier in wanting to be violent if necessary. It’s a remarkable performance for Fassbender as he also brings a great tragic weight to his character that is conflicted while he and McAvoy have great chemistry together.

Despite the messy script and uneven direction of the film, X-Men: First Class is a pretty good film from Matthew Vaughn thanks in part to the stellar performances of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. While the film does have something to offer to fans of the genre, it doesn’t do enough to make it more straightforward. Even though it is a vast improvement over the previous films like X-Men 3: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In the end, X-Men: First Class is an entertaining film from Matthew Vaughn that serves its purpose to its fans.

Matthew Vaughn Films: (Layer Cake) - (Stardust) - Kick-Ass - Kingsman: The Secret Service

X-Men Films: X-Men - X2: X-Men United - X-Men 3: The Last Stand - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - The Wolverine - X-Men: Days of Future Past - X-Men: Apocalypse - Logan (2017 film) - Deadpool 2 – (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) - (New Mutants)

© thevoid99 2011