Screen Scene: “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”
By Daily Bruin Staff
Dec. 7, 2005 9:00 p.m.
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones Sony Pictures Classics When
Mike and Lou Ann Norton move into their new trailer home, the
window looks out onto a dusty road and a sign that reads,
“Liberty means freedom from high interest rates.” It
sounds stupid, like a crooked salesman’s way of conniving
some sorry sucker, but the idea resonates throughout the film
“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” Freedom in
this film ““ written by Guillermo Arriaga (“21
Grams,” “Amores Perros”) and the first directed
by Tommy Lee Jones ““ is about many things: the freedom of an
outlaw, the freedom of the dead, the freedom of moving away, the
freedom of having an affair. Everyone in this film is trying to
break away from something, and they all do it with a silence and a
vitality that makes even the simplest character more beautiful.
“Three Burials” is of the ilk of movies such as
“Memento” or other time-twisting stories that are told
not linearly but circularly ““ backward in parts and forward
in others, recounting the story according to the protagonist Pete
Perkins’ memory of it. Played by Tommy Lee Jones, Pete is a
rancher who lives in Texas and befriends a migrant ranch hand,
Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo). When Melquiades is killed
by a border patrolman, Pete takes it upon himself to bring his body
back to his hometown in Mexico. And when he finds Mike (Barry
Pepper), the man responsible, Pete beats him up and kidnaps him.
Pete and Mike then embark on a quixotic journey through some of the
most desolate, beautiful country in America. On horseback, the two
search for the town and family Melquiades left behind, while Pete
exacts his brand of vigilante justice on the heartless Mike. Though
the film centers on Pete and Mike’s story as they venture
south, there is a wonderfully satisfying supporting cast, including
Mike’s wife Lou Ann (January Jones), the local sheriff
Belmont (Dwight Yoakam), Rachel (Melissa Leo) ““ a married
waitress who is having an affair with both Belmont and Pete, and an
old man with a radio (Levon Helm, the drummer from The Band). All
of these characters find their own versions of freedom, too. Their
performances are excellent all around, but Tommy Lee Jones is
exceptional. Maybe it’s his weathered face or his innate
talent, but with so few words ““ so few facial expressions,
even ““ he conveys exactly how he’s feeling and why.
With twitches of his eyebrows and stuttered lines, Pete is easy to
identify with, no matter how outlandish his revenge seems.
““ Ana Heller
