The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada Review

Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones gets behind the camera for this contemporary Western set on his home turf. Jones plays Pete Perkins, a Texan ranch hand who is devastated when his best friend, illegal Mexican immigrant Melquiades (Julio Cedillo), is found shot dead in the middle of the desert. Pete has his suspicions about who pulled the trigger but a seemingly indifferent local police force and an attempted cover up only serve to enrage him even more. So Pete sets out to fulfil a promise and return Melquiades' body to his home village - but he's not planning to go alone; he wants to get some revenge on the killer (Barry Pepper) along the way.

Written by "21 Grams" scribe Guillermo Arriaga, "The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada" is a well-balanced and considerate movie. Purporting to not be a million miles from how life is in the wide open spaces near the Texas / Mexico boarder, Arriaga's script deals with issues of racism, loss, loneliness and identity but never loses sight of the fact that this is about a man's death and the respect and love of his friend.

Jones is immensely watchable as Pete. A man of few words, he prefers to take action and you can't help and feel some sympathy for Pepper's knuckle-head boarder patrol guard for the hell Perkins puts his through. But Pepper is game too and also delivers a fine performance. But perhaps the real star of this eye-catching piece is the area in which it's set. Partly on Jones' own ranch, it's easy to see why the man is eager to shun the Hollywood limelight and head home at every opportunity.