It's always great to see Tommy Lee Jones in action, but the role of Dave Robicheaux, a rural Louisana cop, is almost too easy for him. The plot, such as it is, centers on a black man who was murdered in the mid-1960s and a series of killings of young women. The plot tries to tie the two together, partially through the contrivance of Dave's imagined conversations with Confederate general Thomas Hood (Levon Helm, formerly of The Band). Dave wants to hang the murders of the girls on local thug and aspiring movie producer played by John Goodman. As if more plot were needed, a film is being made in this corner of the bayou, and it's alcoholic star (Peter Sarsgaard) befriends Dave. The real star of the film should be the setting, but it didn't feel like French director Bertrand Travernier really nailed it. The gumbo needed to simmer awhile. Travernier did a great movie, Round Midnight, with an American jazz man Dexter Gordon; here he uses bluesman Buddy Guy in a small role and, as noted, Levon Helm. I was struck by how literary the language is. General Hood's utterances are all epigrammatic, Dave's voice overs are highly philosophic, and he has a conversation with his wife, while fishing, in which he asks, "What would be your definition of experience?" Evidently this movie was something of a mess in production and went straight to video in the US. Oops. You get the feeling that things might be clearer if you read the book (like the title?), but I have no immediate plans. This movie's got some problems but, hey, it's Tommy Lee Jones, it's bayou country, it's Travernier!
