5 essential films: Tommy Lee Jones
His rugged face may look like it was minted by slugs of bourbon in an old mining-town saloon, but Texas-born Tommy Lee Jones, 68, feels as at home in a Western like "Lonesome Dove" as he does in a popcorn blockbuster like "Men in Black." His rugged charisma and irrepressible attitude shine best in these five films.
"No Country for Old Men" (2007)
All the awards attention went to Javier Bardem, who nightmared into existence a bone-chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh, a psychopath hired to recover a stolen satchel of drug money from a deal gone wrong. But every bit as good, if less showy, is Jones' performance as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, as good, simple and no-nonsense a man as you're likely to find in a pitch-black neo-Western written by Cormac McCarthy and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. His world-weary narration is that of a man who's taken just about all he can of a world that makes as little sense as ours.
"The Fugitive" (1993)
Big-screen efforts based on TV properties rarely turn out as well as this one did. But then, they rarely star Jones and Harrison Ford. Ford embodies his frequent reluctant-hero type as Dr. Richard Kimble, a man unjustly accused of murdering his wife who is on the run from a team of U.S. marshals lead by Jones, who plays a whip-smart and tireless lawman. The thrill of their sparring lends extra zing to what is, essentially, one long, expertly crafted chase sequence — a chemistry that, no doubt, helped guide Jones to an Oscar win for his performance.
"Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980)
One of the better musical biopics, "Coal Miner's Daughter" charts the early life and meteoric rise of country-music legend Loretta Lynn. Churning at the center of the film is the singer's difficult marriage with Doolittle Lynn (Jones), a charming alcoholic philanderer who whisks the pregnant teenager from the backwaters of Butcher Hollow, Ken., and buys her her first guitar. Jones' performance is so balanced that he can be, simultaneously, despicable and loving — you can see why she would stick with him, but all the same, you don't envy her.
"Men in Black" (1997)
Jones is Agent K to Will Smith's Agent J in one of the '90s most perfect popcorn movies. They play a pair of secret special agents tasked with supervising, and hiding the existence of, rogue extraterrestrials on Earth. They have charisma for days with the tried-but-true formula of a young-gun upstart butting heads with the wise old guard. Jones' craggy exterior makes for such a perfect poker face that when it eventually cracks, you can't help but feel moved, even in a goofy movie with a cockroach alien.
"Lincoln" (2012)
In some ways, "Lincoln" is most impressive for what it isn't. Nobody could have blamed Steven Spielberg if he'd ended up making a glowing hagiography of pretty much everyone's favorite American president. But he chose to narrowly focus the film on the final four month's of Lincoln's life, and in particular on his efforts to get the House of Representatives to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which would abolish slavery. Nobody likes to see how the sausage is made, so to speak, but Spielberg somehow made congressional minutiae totally riveting, thanks in large part to a surprisingly comedic performance by Jones, who plays abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens with sweet irascibility.
Reach the reporter at barbara.vandenburgh@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8371. Twitter.com/BabsVan.