‘Sunset Limited’ demonstrates opposite beliefs
Rating: A-
Assume for a moment you're a Christian and you meet an atheist. Would you try to convince that person to find faith in God, or would you simply assume that person is wrong and will spend an afterlife in eternal damnation because of his or her beliefs?
Adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy's play of the same name, "The Sunset Limited" is a theological cinematic study of a hopeless atheist and a preachy Christian. It's the type of film that requires a substantial amount of engagement for 91 minutes since it consists entirely of verbal communication and not much action. The entire film is basically a debate between Christianity and atheism.
Anyone who is familiar with McCarthy's work knows he isn't exactly Mr. Brightside. Most of his work is very morose and dark, such as "No Country for Old Men" (2007) and "The Road" (2009), two of his novels that have been adapted to films. "The Sunset Limited" is no exception, since the film is based on dark subject matter like suicide and disbelief in the afterlife.
"The Sunset Limited" centers on two characters, Black (Samuel L. Jackson) and White (Tommy Lee Jones, also the director of the film), named solely by their skin colors. White is an atheist and a professor, while Black is an ex-convict and a born-again Christian. Before White can commit suicide by walking in front of a train, the Sunset Limited, Black saves him and takes him back to his meager apartment in urban New York. While at the apartment, they constantly and passionately debate the meaning of human suffering, the existence of God and the propriety of White's attempted suicide.
In terms of cinematography, Jones and his colleagues manage to keep the movie visually interesting by alternating between close-ups and two-person shots. These shots allow the audience to soak in the grandeur behind both characters' beliefs on the meaning of human existence and religion.
What makes "The Sunset Limited" so enthralling is the engaging performances from both Jackson and Jones. White, who once believed in the power of art, currently believes in nothing but the Sunset Limited being able to provide him with long-lasting peace and silence through death. His intellect has forced him to consider that his life is full of self-satisfied despair and rendered him disdainful. Black, in contrast, fully embraces Christian simplicity and admittedly doesn't carry an innovative thought in his head because everything he acknowledges and follows is written in the Bible.
Both characters are inherently flawed, which only makes the debate more intriguing for the viewer. "The Sunset Limited" embarks on a conservation people would normally choose to ignore, with questions asked such as, is there really a god, and if there isn't, can people live with that? To the religious, the movie may come off as offensive and disturbing.
But overall, "The Sunset Limited" is a great viewing experience, regardless of personal beliefs.