Is it possible to successfully base a movie on a play? I can think of a couple of examples, like Chicago (which I personally didn’t like, but mr. Oscar seems to disagree), Rope and Dogville (which looks like a play, but actually wasn’t based on one). Tommy Lee Jones (who also directed this film) and Samuel L. Jackson play two men who talk for an hour and a half about existence and religion. Does The Sunset Limited manage to keep your attention?
Samuel L. Jackson is Black, a highly religious man who is happy with the simple life he’s living. He has saved White (Tommy Lee Jones), who was about to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train. White is an atheistic professor who only sees the worst in people and the world. The whole film is set in Black’s apartment, in which the two men get to know each other better.
As always the acting of both Jackson and Jones is great and by regularly moving around the room it doesn’t make the movie feel as static as it could have been. Which is good as it’s a house which is almost completely empty. Whether you will like this movie though has all to do with the subject matter the two are discussing. Personally I just couldn’t invest in it, which explains the score.
Score: 5
Interesting. I saw this on my sky planner before and wondered if I would enjoy it. I am glad I did not bother now 🙂
If you get into the conversation they are having (so if you like talks about religion) then it might be worth watching. Personally I couldn’t, resulting in that score.
I personally loved this movie. I’m not religious, but found the dialogue (which is wonderfully written by Cormack McCarthy!) very intriguing. It’s also a warm welcome to see Samuel L. Jackson in a role I could appreciate him in. Good review nonetheless, it’s really a question if you’re invested in the conversation. But I’d still recommend it to anyone for the writing and the acting alone.
Another great movie based on a play is Doubt. Since we’re all into the religious talk, I thought I’d just throw that one in there as well.
I can understand people liking this as it’s been well made. The writing was well done, I can agree on that, but it’s not the kind of writing I enjoy watching, which probably had to do with the subject. Personally I wouldn’t recommend a movie just to watch it for the acting and writing as I personally don’t know a lot of people that would enjoy a movie just based on that.
Just downloaded this, will see how I feel about it soon : — )
Let me know what you think of it. Interesting to hear another opinion about it.