I have always been a fan of the Western Genre of films. I remember it was yearsago that I had watched ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ on the AMC channel.That film appealed to me a lot and I have watched it several times since then.
Over the years, watching Sergio Leone’s films was like an education for me inthis genre and needless to say actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood haveimmortalized the characters they have played. Yes, there is blood, gunshots andgore, but there is also a kind of passion, a rugged emotion and that old-westfeeling, an adventure of sorts. It was the era before cars, the gold rush, before the technological revolution, before man became slave to machines.
Oneelement that I have always admired in all westerns is the backdrop of thebeautiful landscapes of the South Western States of Arizona, Utah or NewMexico. It’s a feast for the eyes, and needless to say, it’s acinematographer’s dream. These days ofcourse, good westerns are hard to come by (at least in my opinion) and not manyfilm-makers delve into this genre of films. Every once in a while, some wellmade westerns still come along, for example, the classic “Unforgiven” and themore recent “3:10 to Yuma” starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Thelatest offering in this genre being ‘Appaloosa’.
When Appaloosa released a few months back, I was curious to watch it. My wife is notas big a fan of westerns like me, so I hit the theater by myself. Based onRobert Parker’s novel, ‘Appaloosa’ is the tale of two friends. Set in the worldof defector ranchers and gunfighters, the film coalesces conflicts of law andorder with well-choreographed bursts of violence from time to time. Interwovenin it all, one will find a calm, thoughtful emotional journey of courage, bravery, love, honor and above all - friendship.
When the town of Appaloosa’s sheriff is shot in broad daylight, Virgil Cole isbrought in as the town’s new Marshal, with Everett Hitch as his Deputy. Foryears the two men have been traveling around different towns in the Wild WildWest, instilling harmony and law and order. In the process, they have made afew enemies, but regardless over the years, the two of them have always beenthere for each other and have developed a deep friendship and regard for each other.Like other places, they expect their stay in Appaloosa to be short, duringwhich they planned to improve the law and order situation in Appaloosa, capturethe guilty and then move on to their next destination. But what happens whenthe two arrive at Appaloosa? Do things go according to their plans? That is thecrux of the film.
Truly speaking, as the story went along, I couldn’t help but think of the parallelsof this film, with the Indian movie “Sholay”. Two friends, come to town, torescue its people from an evil local goon. But that’s where the similarityends. Just as the story was starting to get predictable, the director has addedan excellent twist, putting the audience right back in to the guessing game.The lead characters are played by Ed Harris (as Marshall Cole), and ViggoMortensen (as Everett Hitch). After ‘History of Violence’ this is their secondfilm together. Both actors have delivered excellent performances. In additionto acting, Ed Harris has also co-written the screenplay and directed the film.Ed Harris may not have the stardom of a Jack Nicholson or a De Niro, but he iscertainly one of the best character actors out there. Viggo Mortensen neverdisappoints and has once again given a stellar performance. He speaks with hiseyes and it is his silence more than his dialogue that speaks volumes in thisfilm.
The strength of how ‘good’, the good guys appear in a film, also depends on how‘menacing and evil’ the bad guys emerge. Without Gabbar, there would be no“Sholay”. In Appaloosa, the casting director has truly come up with a perfectcast for this film and has cast the legendary Jeremy Irons as Mr. Bragg, as the‘classic bad guy’. Sure enough Irons gives a top-notch performance and hassucceeded in making the viewer ‘hate’ him to the core.
Unlike most westerns, what I found a little different in this film was the length ofthe role of the female lead character in the film. Renee Zellweger as AllisonFrench plays Ed Harris’s love interest and once she makes her entrance abouttwenty minutes into the film, she is pretty much seen through out the film. Sheplays a true chameleon. Her character has gray shades and was perhaps thetoughest one to play, considering she plays an innocent damsel in distress oneminute and a manipulative and an exploitive woman at the next. While thepresence of Zellweger is vital, some of her scenes with Ed Harris lacked thespunk, in terms of dialogues and emotions. Overall though she has certainlycharmed her way through, and the audience ends up routing for her.
Likemany westerns, the imagery in this film is breathtaking and cinematography isgorgeous. The production designer and art director have done an excellent jobin creating the fictitious town of ‘Appaloosa’ in the middle of New Mexico andgiving the houses, hotels and the streets a late 1800s-early 1900s look. The costume designer has also done his partwell, and the actors look their part.
In terms of direction, this film is Ed Harris’s follow up to his previousdirectorial venture ‘Pollock’ which was Oscar nominated, and was based on thelife of famous painter Jason Pollock. I feel in terms of subject matter andexecution, ‘Pollock’ was more difficult, and Harris had done an excellent jobin that film. In Appaloosa, the subject is relatively lighter, and even thoughthe story was meant to be multi-faceted, Harris ends up concentrating more onthe deep-seated friendship between the two lead characters more often. Thus, the friendship and trust between Harris and Mortensen has been conveyed very well.The fact that the two friends have reached a point, where in they cancomprehend each other’s silence, and nothing much needs to be said has beenexecuted brilliantly. But some of the scenes end up looking repetitive. Thescreenplay tends to be slow at times, particularly in the beginning. The filmhowever has an excellent ending, shot superbly and makes the viewer feel trulypoignant.
Overall, the film pales compared to movies like ‘Unforgiven’ or ‘Mackenna’s Gold’ or‘For Few Dollars More’ but is certainly watchable (for the fine performances byeach and every actor). It stops short of being brilliant due to lack lusterscreenplay in parts.