Ed Harris steps behind the camera for the first time since his excellent biopic POLLACK for this screen adaptation of Robert B. Parker's Western novel. This tale of honor and camaraderie is a traditional oater in its tone. While it features some flares of modern frankness, the story never feels like it steps outside of the 1880s era. Fans of Westerns will be reminded of films like MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. Audiences not in love with the genre will find an engaging character piece about two men who have formed a uniquely close bond under life and death situations.
Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE) is a miner who writes his own rules for himself and his men in the New Mexico town of Appaloosa. After murdering the marshal, the town leaders turn to lawman-for-hire Virgil Cole (Harris) and his partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE). Cole's deal is easy, you turn over the town to him and he'll bring order to it. Before the ink on his contract dries, Cole has gunned down two of Bragg's men for pissing on the floor of the saloon. The showdown of wills between Bragg and Cole soon begins. Then Allie French (Renee Zellweger, BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY) walks into town and fires buckshot right into Cole's heart.
Cole and Hitch know each other better than most friends. They've been through a lot together and trust each other implicitly. They have a quiet understanding. But Allie presents a challenge that they've never dealt with before. Cole hasn't ever been with a woman like her and it makes him think about staying put for a change. This greatly impacts Hitch's livelihood and he has reasons to suspect Allie is not as forthright about her feelings as she says. It's this dynamic between the three characters that makes the film unique.
Harris co-wrote the script with Robert Knott developing the details of Cole and Hitch's relationship very well. Their friendship allows for humor and humanity to fill in the cracks of the lawman against the criminal tale. As an actor, Harris' signature tough guy intensity fits the character well, but he excels in bringing in the character's vulnerability when it comes to love. Cole is not a man with deep feelings and that's kept him alive thus far. So when it comes to how to act around a lady he's completely lost. Mortensen crafts Hitch as a laconic figure who watches Cole's back at all times. It doesn't matter if it's the shifty Bragg or the mysterious Allie; he's got his eye on you.
The look has all the hallmarks of a Western, but Harris doesn't focus much on grand vistas. He's more interested in the relationships. The story develops along what seems like a typical Western trajectory, but takes a turn about two-thirds of the way through where it begins to focus more on the characters and less on the external plot of Cole bringing Bragg to justice. At first it seems like a simple entertaining yarn then it grabs you and makes you pay attention. It looks closely at the lives these men have led, why they do the things they do and why they might want to take big risks they've never taken before.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
