Raising the Dead

I've always been a fan of those stories about the importance of burying the dead. In the tradition of "Antigone" and "As I Lay Dying," the goal of "Three Burials for Melquiades Estrada" is to properly and respectfully get that dead guy in the ground. No matter what it takes. Tommy Lee Jones is supremely confident directing and acting in this picture that shifts back and forth in time as he and Barry Pepper, who's (rightfully) abused nonstop through the flick, transverse the Mexican border to find the hometown of the very dead and fast decomposing Melquiades Estrada.