Appaloosa
Going into this I feared the worst, that this film would resemble Kevin Costnerās Open Range, a boring pretentious western with a leaden script and story.Ā Fortunately Ed Harris (who directs, stars, writes, and produces) doesnāt quite give us that here.Ā Regardless, Harrisā Virgil Cole is a perplexing creation.Ā Obviously patterned after the neo-conservative Wyatt Earp archetype, Harris proceeds to subvert that image by showing just how emotionally frail and insecure Cole is even after he takes over as Marshal of a western town under siege and begins killing bad guys left and right.Ā In fact, he gets so carried away with showing the chinks in this tough guyās armor that it becomes blatently transparent, becoming the focus of the movie rather than the story itself, which hits the ground running as it shows the murders of three lawmen at the hands of Jeremy Ironsā Randall Bragg, the corrupt rich man trying to take over the town.Ā Indeed, the first 20 to 30 minutes show amazing promise in the way it sets things up, as Harris dictates to the town fathers that the only way heāll clean things up is if he has free rein over the town to make the laws and do what he wants.Ā Then comes the introduction of the character played by Renee Zellweger (looking about 55 years old here) whom Harris falls for.Ā At this point since Zellweger is written to be, essentially, a slut who will sleep with any man with a minimum of power, it brings the Harris characterās foibles to the forefront as he seems willing to brutally assault any man who so much as uses harsh language in her presence.Ā On the other hand, Irons in the villain role combines vaudevillian theatrics with cold-blooded intensity to make his performance stand out as a wealthy bastard who aināt exactly no pussy either.Ā As an added bonus, we get legendary tough guy Lance Henriksen as a hired gun who complicates things in the town.Ā Ultimately, the real star of the film (and the man whom the audience gets behind) is Viggo Mortensen as Harrisā deputy and loyal friend from whose point of view the story is told.Ā Despite carrying the film with little more than his physical presence rather than with acting ability, we soon come to realize that the sidekick is the āreal manā of the duo, and Harrisā annoying habit of stuttering on big words only to have Viggo correct him shows that the older peacemaker probably canāt take a piss without having his deputy instruct him.Ā It is Mortensen who brings the story full circle, when after playing second banana for most of the film, he finally takes center stage for the big climax.Ā The film seems to drop out after a major shootout three quarters of the way through, making the viewer wonder how long till it ends, but then when Viggo steps up, we finally get the conclusion we were looking for.Ā Overall, an ok Western, but no classic by any means due to Harrisā subversive tacticsā¦
7/10