Open Range
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Movie Reviews of Open Range
Movie Review: Wow! Could this be the best gunfight ever?
Summary: 5 Stars
Because Open Range opened to mixed reviews I was hesitant to spend the eight bucks to see it in the theater and waited to it came out on DVD. Then I waited again, renting any mildly interesting movie before I finally renting Open Range. What a mistake. It was an phenomenal movie- Breathtaking in scope, beautiful cinematography, and action that leaves one breathless. Open Range ranks with one of the best westerns every made. Wonderfully cast with Kevin Costner as "Charlie," support by the incomparable Robert Duvall as the taciturn and wise "Boss", Annette Bening as "Sue" the love interest in the story. These roles are underplayed and natural. One does not get the impression that these actors are reaching for their part. On the contrary, the viewer is drawn into a world that is long since passed.
Open range is a morality tale that does not preach at you. It simply presents the choice that men have between good and evil. Although it borrows from High Noon (lone hero, defending a town that does not want to stand up for itself, from evil.) But unlike High Noon, the story is not so simple. The lines between good and evil are not that clear. Charlie would resort to unnecessary violence to stop evil and to enact vengeance if not stopped by Boss. The town that at first refused to come to the aid of Charlie and Boss, regain their nerve and join the battle. Without the aid of the townsmen, Charlie and Boss surely would have been killed. Throughout this drama the reoccurring themes of right and wrong, and what it means to be a man are thoroughly examined. It is interesting to note the theological theme that also runs through the movie: Why would a good God allow good men to die young? The Robert Duvall character, Boss, at first takes umbrage at God, then relents as time passes.
There is a sense of realism that I have not seen in other westerns. The flight out of town by citizens who wish to avoid the violence and the burial of the victims at the end of the movie are scenes rarely shown in most westerns. But if one thing stands out, it is the gunfight at the end of the movie. The violence even took me back. No, it was not the bullets ripping through flesh, but the sound and chaos of the fight that smacked of realism. Finally, I have seen a movie where gunfire actually sounds like real guns instead of fake movie sounds. The chaos of battle was seen in the missed shots at close range . . . men shooting . . . bullets flying . . . deafening noise . . . .Wow! Could this be the best gunfight ever?
Movie Review: A beautiful and classic Western.
Summary: 5 Stars
Rules of thumb are dangerous when it comes to movies, but the following one has never, to my knowledge, been disproven: Any movie that features Robert Duvall in a cowboy hat is likely to be a classic. That rule was certainly true of "Tender Mercies" and "Lonesome Dove," and in my opinion it's also true of "Open Range," the 2003 film that proved "Dances With Wolves" wasn't just a fluke for Kevin Costner. Costner directed this moving, atmospheric Western in which he co-stars with Duvall and Annette Bening. (Touchingly and appropriately, Costner gave Duvall top billing in this film.) In "Open Range," Duvall and Costner play Boss Spearman and Charlie Waite, two saddle tramps leading a herd of cattle to market with the help of Mose (Abraham Benrubi), a hulking giant of a man, and Button (Diego Luna), a semi-feral Mexican teenager. Unfortunately, the four inadvertently run afoul of evil rancher Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) and corrupt Sheriff Poole (James Russo), both of whom consider it their duty on earth to kill all cowboys who follow the open range. But for Charlie this misfortune has a silver lining, because it brings him into contact with the beautiful Sue (Bening). Essentially the film is a three-character chamber drama between Duvall, Costner and Bening, though it contains enough excitement and color for three Westerns. All three give performances equal to the best they've ever given. The relationship between Charlie--a former soldier and gunslinger who strives to bury his more murderous instincts--and Boss, who generally advises caution but can turn dangerous when he has to, is as rich and enjoyable as that between Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call in "Lonesome Dove." Duvall's Boss can't help but put us in mind of Gus, except that Boss is more likely than Gus to think before he acts, to his ultimate benefit. The slow, halting courtship between Charlie and Sue is deeply moving; Charlie loves Sue more than any woman he's ever met, but feels unworthy of her kindness and gentility. These relationships play out against a backdrop of the murderous doings of Baxter and Poole, culminating in a long gunfight that, in its sense of chaotic danger, feels closer to the truth than any gunfight Randolph Scott ever appeared in. Sweet-souled yet breathtakingly exciting, with magnificent photography by James Muro and haunting music by Michael Kamen, "Open Range" is a true classic Western.Movie Review: Rediscovering the western . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Director and actor, Kevin Costner, does not depart far from the traditional elements of the classic western. With Robert Duvall as the other central character, the two of them driving cattle, he visits again the bond between men that grows as they work together and face common enemies, whether bad weather or bad men. The open, unspoiled landscape of basin and range is represented here by breathtaking location footage near Calgary, Alberta. And there is the frontier town, where good people are threatened and intimidated by the presence of a powerful ranch owner and those in his pay, including the town marshal. Finally, there is the choice between moving on and settling down, as the town doctor's beautiful, intelligent sister becomes marriage material for one of the two cowboys.
Conflict is set in motion when the ranch owner's men kill an innocent man and leave another for dead. To see that justice is done, the two men leave their cattle and come to town, eventually engaging in a shootout with a high body count. Costner takes his time and doesn't rush through any of the story. There are revelations along the way and a lot of talk about killing. Understanding that they are outnumbered, the two men have the opportunity to reflect on the likelihood of their being killed themselves. Annette Bening is perfectly plausible as the woman who catches the eye of Costner's troubled cowboy, and reflecting the mores of a later age (our own) she is a strong presence right to the film's end.
While it's all pretty far-fetched (few real cowboys in 1882 came to town to do anything but raise hell themselves), and there are odd anachronisms in situations and dialogue (Bening talks sometimes like a modern day therapist), it's not difficult to suspend disbelief, especially when the music swells and reaches for the heart strings. For anyone who wonders how the two men's herd of cattle stick together during their absence - and through a night-long electrical storm - there are Costner's final words as he leaves town, "Let's go get them cows." This 2-DVD set has lots of bonus materials, including Costner's commentary, several deleted scenes that deepen and enrich the narrative, and an excellent making-of documentary, which reveals among other things that Costner was suffering unknowingly from an appendix about to burst as shooting started.
Movie Review: COSTNER'S BACK!
Summary: 5 Stars
Over the years I have been more than a little disappointed in Kevin Costner's efforts to direct let, alone act. But I have to admit that Open Range has caused me to reconsider.Open Range, the story of two free range cowboys in 1882 who are forced to avenge the death of a partner at the hands of a ruthless Irish cattle baron, is wonderfully scripted, masterfully set and boasts a cast that is about as strong as any I have seen in a western. Robert Duvall all but resurrects the persona he created as Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove as he portrays the tough and savvy trail boss Boss Spearman. Westerns fit Duvall like a pair of well-worn boots and this movie would be a western masterpiece if it were nothing more than Duvall's lines and scenes. But the rest of the cast members are also terrific.
Kevin Costner stars as Charlie Waite, Spearman's partner and unquestioning supporter. Waite is a man who seeks to leave behind a past as a soldier and killer. Annette Bening is superb as Sue Barlow, sister of the town's sawbones and a woman who can see the tender side of the man who has come to set things right in her town.
Michael Gambon stars as Denton Baxter, an evil cattle baron with a biting prejudice against "Free Grazers," as he calls them and, having bought the town Marshall, the saloon and driven a stake of terror into the hearts of most of the townsfolk, will stop at nothing to keep his supposed empire when confronted by Spearman and Waite. Given Gambon's wonderfully sinister portrayal of Baxter in Open Range I wonder how he plans to pull off his new role as the kind-hearted headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, in the next installment of Harry Potter.
The gunfight is one of the best of the genre, being choreographed from the first shot right down to the final standoff. I haven't seen anything this riveting since Once Upon A Time in the West and The Wild Bunch.
A classic western in every sense, Open Range, I predict, will emerge as Costner's masterpiece, standing up very capably in comparison any and all western movies and clearly surpassing in my thinking Costner's Dances With Wolves (and no, I don't care about the Academy Awards it won) and Wyatt Earp for the top spot. Just be ready to strap on your colt and hold on for dear life.
Douglas McAllister
Movie Review: COSTNER'S BACK!
Summary: 5 Stars
Over the years I have been more than a little disappointed in Kevin Costner's efforts to direct let, alone act. But I have to admit that Open Range has caused me to reconsider.Open Range, the story of two free range cowboys in 1882 who are forced to avenge the death of a partner at the hands of a ruthless Irish cattle baron, is wonderfully scripted, masterfully set and boasts a cast that is about as strong as any I have seen in a western. Robert Duvall all but resurrects the persona he created as Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove as he portrays the tough and savvy trail boss Boss Spearman. Westerns fit Duvall like a pair of well-worn boots and this movie would be a western masterpiece if it were nothing more than Duvall's lines and scenes. But the rest of the cast members are also terrific.
Kevin Costner stars as Charlie Waite, Spearman's partner and unquestioning supporter. Waite is a man who seeks to leave behind a past as a soldier and killer. Annette Bening is superb as Sue Barlow, sister of the town's sawbones and a woman who can see the tender side of the man who has come to set things right in her town.
Michael Gambon stars as Denton Baxter, an evil cattle baron with a biting prejudice against "Free Grazers," as he calls them and, having bought the town Marshall, the saloon and driven a stake of terror into the hearts of most of the townsfolk, will stop at nothing to keep his supposed empire when confronted by Spearman and Waite. Given Gambon's wonderfully sinister portrayal of Baxter in Open Range I wonder how he plans to pull off his new role as the kind-hearted headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, in the next installment of Harry Potter.
The gunfight is one of the best of the genre, being choreographed from the first shot right down to the final standoff. I haven't seen anything this riveting since Once Upon A Time in the West and The Wild Bunch.
A classic western in every sense, Open Range, I predict, will emerge as Costner's masterpiece, standing up very capably in comparison any and all western movies and clearly surpassing in my thinking Costner's Dances With Wolves (and no, I don't care about the Academy Awards it won) and Wyatt Earp for the top spot. Just be ready to strap on your colt and hold on for dear life.
Douglas McAllister