A devout Christian saves a disconsolate skeptic from hurling himself in front of the title train, and brings him home to his project apartment to have a philosophical discussion with the hopes of preventing a recurrence of the event. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones and written by Cormac McCarthy from his two man stage play, "The Sunset Limited" is an intelligent, intense, and deeply provocative film. Starring Jones and Samuel L. Jackson, both men capture the essence of their night and day characters, Jones being nuanced and inward and Jackson as fire breathing and outward, and although we start with two basic types, the story and its actors take us to dark and unforeseen places. Like the great minimal cast productions I'm familiar with such as "My Dinner with Andre" and "American Buffalo", "The Sunset Limited" is riveting thanks to its sharp and lucid dialogue and impeccable acting.
