I know Hollywood is cyclical, but could somebody explain to me why the studios are so against westerns? Or, since I know studios only care about what they perceive audiences care about, could somebody explain to me why audiences dislike westerns so much? Sure, I’d be the last person to ever want to live in the environment of a western, but I think it’s one of the better film genres. This is one of only a few westerns of the last couple decades. And what a marvelous film it is. I absolutely loved it. Heck, I’ve seen it twice in two days.

Writing: Many people don’t realize that this is a remake. I think I’ve seen the original. At least much of it seems familiar, so I think I’ve at least seen much of the movie some time ago. After loving this new version, I’ve gotta make an effort to see the original again. I don’t remember the original well enough to make any comparisons, really, but I do have vague memories of the original having a happier ending of sorts. I guess a modern western would be a bit more cynical, which makes sense (and which I actually prefer). Ultimately, this film is less fittingly described as a “western” than it would be as a all-out character drama. It primarily comes down to two characters and their growth playing off each other. It’s an excellent story, laid out in a great script and brought to life by a fine cast and talented crew.

Production: Director James Mangold has a fine, varied track record over the years. This is yet another film genre he’s jumped into, and yet again he succeeds with flying colors. This may be his finest film to date, or at least a top contender. The rest of his crew bring forth equal talent in bringing this story to life without feeling like they are trying to hard. The production seems less interested in the flamboyancies of western genre films normally would (few sweeping shots of the vistas or stylistically framed shots). They seem more interested in the characters and story, which is cool.

Cast: This is easily one of Russell Crowe’s finest performances. He really gets to have fun with this role, and he gets to play a wonderfully multi-faceted character. And he does such a great job with it. Like all the characters, he gets to play many shades of gray. Many people associate the western genre with good vs evil, white hat vs black hat, all too often. Most great westerns are nothing of the sort. In fact, most are all about that middle ground. Crowe’s performance as Ben Wade is on such example. The always-reliable Christian Bale is also excellent as Dan Evans. While his role might be a little bit more thankless than that of Ben Wade, Christian Bale none-the-less brings out all manner of levels to the characters. The two of them are surrounded by an excellent supporting cast. Ben Foster is fantastic as Wade’s raging sociopath right hand man, Charlie Prince. Foster has played everything from romantic teen comedy lead (the under-rated Get Over It) to all out psychopaths (the also under-rated Hostage). He really makes the role of Charlie Prince memorable. Peter Fonda lends the long-time pursuer character of Byron McElroy some great gravitas. As one of a number of Pinkerton agents in the film, he helps sell the time and place of the film. Then you’ve got actors like the fantastic Alan Tudyk in supporting roles, so it’s nearly impossible to go wrong. Gretchen Mol, who isn’t cast in films nearly as often as she should be, does a nice job as Alice Evans, Dan’s wife. Logan Lerman does a nice job as Dan’s impressionable teenage son, William. Heck, Luke Wilson even turns up in a small role and has some fun with it.

Music: Marco Beltrami unsurprisingly comes through with a knock-out score. His score was one of the key things I was looking forward to seeing this movie for, and it surely didn’t disappoint. The score is often times understated, but always fantastic. It does get its moments to shine, and shine it does. With some gorgeous orchestration and complementary percussion, Beltrami works in some nice thematic work and the occasional, wonderful action cue. It’s a fantastic score from start to finish. Beltrami proves once again that he’s one of the best composers actively working in the film score industry. He’s one of my favorites, anyway.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 3:47 am and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.