‘Blue Sky’

This 1994 release is a confounding film, simultaneously silk purse and sow’s ear. What begins as a compelling and beautifully acted portrait of a complex adult relationship ends with a B-picture finale about military secrecy, a turn of events as baffling as it sounds. Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones star as Carly and Maj. Hank Marshall, a military couple enmeshed in a still-passionate but agonizing 18-year marriage. Though Lange and Jones are Oscar winners--and this 1994 release was to bring Lange another--who have not lacked for strong parts, the combination of their ease with each other and their obvious trust in Richardson has resulted in intense, volatile performances that have to be consideredamong the strongest in both their careers. While “Blue Sky’s” vibrancy points up how rare that quality has become, the way everything finally falls to earth underlines the difficulty even promising projects have in staying ontrack all the way to the end (SHOW Friday at 8 p.m.).