With Estrada's dead body in tow, cattle rancher Pete Perkins, played by Tommy Lee Jones, takes a border patrol man named Mike Norton to where Estrada lived and asks Norton look at Estrada's plate, drink out of his cup, and where his clothes. Pete wants Mike to see what an injustice he's done. It's a violent kind of poetry that's felt throughout the film.
Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in this film. The film begins simply enough, with the view of Estrada's body, dead from a gunshot wound. We are introduced to rookier border patrol officer Mike Norton, played by Barry Pepper, and his young wife. They arrive in Texas from Cincinatti. Norton obviously lacks experience at his trade and shows violent and cowardly tendencies doing his job.
There is a non linear quality to the film. It flashes back and forth, tracing the friendship between Pete and Estrada, an illegal Mexican immigrant. This part of the film can seem a little slow, though important. When we see Estrada's death and learn of his killer, the journey begins where Pete sets out to give his friend a proper burial.
This is also where the film moves from standard drama to a surreal, Pekinpah like journey. Think "Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," where Bennie talked to the head and gave it a shower. "Garcia" was a violent road film, but some scenes remind me of that film. "Three Burials" is more poetic.
In the end, we have a film that deals with friendship, justice, and a sense of loneliness felt by more than one character in the film. We also get a classic semi tense road picture, between Texas and Mexico. While the journey's no match for Jones' turn in "No Country for Old Men," this film blends emotional drama with a dark somewhat violent western.
Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in this film. The film begins simply enough, with the view of Estrada's body, dead from a gunshot wound. We are introduced to rookier border patrol officer Mike Norton, played by Barry Pepper, and his young wife. They arrive in Texas from Cincinatti. Norton obviously lacks experience at his trade and shows violent and cowardly tendencies doing his job.
There is a non linear quality to the film. It flashes back and forth, tracing the friendship between Pete and Estrada, an illegal Mexican immigrant. This part of the film can seem a little slow, though important. When we see Estrada's death and learn of his killer, the journey begins where Pete sets out to give his friend a proper burial.
This is also where the film moves from standard drama to a surreal, Pekinpah like journey. Think "Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," where Bennie talked to the head and gave it a shower. "Garcia" was a violent road film, but some scenes remind me of that film. "Three Burials" is more poetic.
In the end, we have a film that deals with friendship, justice, and a sense of loneliness felt by more than one character in the film. We also get a classic semi tense road picture, between Texas and Mexico. While the journey's no match for Jones' turn in "No Country for Old Men," this film blends emotional drama with a dark somewhat violent western.