The Sunset Limited (film)
The Sunset Limited | |
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Based on | The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy |
Screenplay by | Cormac McCarthy |
Directed by | Tommy Lee Jones |
Starring | Tommy Lee Jones Samuel L. Jackson |
Theme music composer | Marco Beltrami |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Barbara A. Hall |
Cinematography | Paul Elliott |
Editors | Roberto Silvi Larry Madaras |
Running time | 91 minutes |
Production company | HBO Films |
Release | |
Original network | HBO |
Original release |
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The Sunset Limited is a 2011 American television film directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. The film co-stars Samuel L. Jackson. It was the duo's second collaboration, after the 2000 film Rules of Engagement. The screenplay was written by Cormac McCarthy, based on his 2006 play of the same name.
The film is about the relationship between a black man with a positive view of life and a white man with a very negative view.
The film received generally favorable reviews.
Plot[]
Black and White converse about White's attempted suicide. White feels as though everything ends up in death, and that his life is minuscule in the throes of time.
From White's point of view, no matter how great someone or something is, all that is created eventually fades away. This is the opposite of what Black believes. He believes that there is a God and that we all must go through the troubles of life to get to paradise (Heaven). By his own account, his story is that of a man who has committed murder and was far away from God, but has now changed.
Black feels that he can dissuade White from committing suicide. With Black stopping White right before he was about to kill himself, Black feels that this is destiny. In the end, Black is not able to dissuade White from suicide; he lets him leave the apartment. When White leaves, Black is left pondering why God would put him in a position to save this man's life knowing that there is nothing that he can do to stop White from going through with the suicide.
Cast[]
- Samuel L. Jackson as Black
- Tommy Lee Jones as White
Reception[]
The film received generally favorable reviews. The film holds a 67-out-of-100 score on review aggregation website Metacritic, based on 15 reviews. Among those who praised the film are Verne Gay of Newsday, who called it "grim, but a chance to see two magnificent actors at the peak of their powers."[1] It currently holds a 68% favorable rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Mike Scott of The Times-Picayune, who called the film "A thinking man's drama that rolls deep, heavy thoughts around and around, trying to puzzle out where the truth lies. Or, indeed, if what we see as the truth is just that: a lie."[3]
References[]
- ^ "The Sunset Limited: Season 1". . Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ The Sunset Limited (2011). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- ^ "With Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson on board, 'Sunset Limited' is a thoughtful ride".
External links[]
- 2011 television films
- 2011 films
- American films
- English-language films
- Films about suicide
- Films about philosophy
- Films about Christianity
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Tommy Lee Jones
- HBO Films films
- Films scored by Marco Beltrami
- Films based on works by Cormac McCarthy
- Films with screenplays by Cormac McCarthy
- Two-handers