Oct. 29, 2008

Reviewed by Richard Lee Zuras

Released 10/5/08

1 hr. 48 min.

R

Ed Harris/New Line Cinema

Ed Harris

Viggo Mortenson

Renee Zellweger

Jeremy Irons

People will say this is how they used to make westerns. Not really. Seldom in westerns has the acting been this good. Only recently, in the wake of Unforgiven, has Hollywood turned over the western reigns to the actors. And we are indeed fortunate to witness several of the best actors of their time directing westerns: Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), Kevin Costner (Open Range), and Ed Harris (Appaloosa) among them.

Actors turned directors are also able to draw from a wide pool of fellow actors. Clint Eastwood lassoed Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman, Kevin Costner rangled Robert Duvall and Annette Bening, and Ed Harris roped and tied Viggo Mortenson and Jeremy Irons. And no self-respecting, oscar-winning director of photography would buck at the chance to film the great expanses of the American west.

But as my puns denote, you still must like westerns and their familiar gestalt. Appaloosa, for all its strengths, still posits Indians in their familiar hoop’n’holler role. The women, what women there are in this film, are whores or suspected of being whores. There are tweaks here and there, but it is a western through and through. And there is, in the vernacular of Hitch (Mortenson) and Cole (Harris), an awful lot of gun-work.

Where this western makes its mark is in its study of its two lead western characters. There is too much action in Appaloosa, though, to simply call it a character study. Hitch and Cole have been riding and keeping the peace for many years–so many they can’t remember the exact number. They are close, and Hitch’s respect for the older Cole is so genuine you feel it deep in your bones. Their bond is so immediate, and so truthful, that at times they need not speak. In a word, they have chemistry. These are men who would die, together, for their shared cause of keeping the peace.

Enter Allison French, played with pluck by Renee Zellweger, to serve as the one possible catalyst that could upend the Cole/Hitch bond. Enter Randall Bragg, played by the almost too good Jeremy Irons, as the requisite and very dangerous bad guy. What follows is a tautly woven, intricately acted western for its time, and maybe years to come.

It is no surprise that the first thing Harris did upon reading the novel (by Robert B. Parker) was to call his agent about securing the film rights. It is even less surprising that the second thing he did was to call his old buddy Viggo Mortenson and ask if he would play Hitch to Harris’ Cole. And Harris, it should be noted, vowed to bring out a sequel even before Appaloosa premiered. And that’s a decision you might want to keep in mind if Appaloosa’s ending leaves you wanting more.

Bottom Line 3.5/5.0