Review: Appaloosa (2008)

[Mark R. Leeper]

                            APPALOOSA
                (a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

     CAPSULE: Two hired mercenaries are made deputies
     in a small New Mexico town to round up a rancher
     who murdered a deputy.  A fine cast produces a
     surprisingly low-key outing.  It sports a plot
     like a Western from 45 years ago, but pacing
     familiar from LONESOME DOVE.  APPALOOSA is an
     unexceptional Western but one with a good eye for
     detail.  It was produced by, directed by, and
     stars Ed Harris, who also sings a little.  Rating:
     high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

As the film begins Everett Hitch (played by Viggo Mortensen)
philosophizes in voice-over that the foreseeable never really
happens and the unforeseeable is what your life becomes.  That is
apparently what happens to him and his partner Virgil Cole (Ed
Harris), two lawmen and hired killers, when they are engaged by the
town of Appaloosa, New Mexico to bring in a local rancher who
murdered a deputy.  The rancher is Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons)
who, with a small army of ranch hands, is a law unto himself.  The
two are good killers and do not expect it to be a big job.  Ah, but
the unforeseen is what their life becomes as they begin a long
battle of wits against Bragg.  Meanwhile, Cole falls in love for
the first time with Allison French (Renee Zellweger), a widow lady
who comes to town and immediately is attracted to Cole.

The plot of the two lawmen trying to capture and bring to trial a
powerful rancher is the sort you might find in a Western that would
have been made in the 1960s.  This plot has a little more depth in
that Virgil Cole is sort of a dubious hero.  First he insists on
becoming the town dictator, with his own set of laws to make easier
his task of bringing law and order.  He is a killer with a badge.
And the badge is the only thing that makes him better than Bragg,
who is also undeniably a killer.  If any character is sympathetic
it is not Cole but Hitch who is in the partnership a definite
second among equals.  While the plotting is 1960s, the low-key
style and pacing are post-LONESOME DOVE.  This gives us more time
to get to know the characters, and the film covers a long time both
on the watches of the audience and in the lives of the characters.

There is no brash Western score of the sort that Elmer Bernstein
would have given APPALOOSA.  Instead we hear only three or fewer
instruments at any one time.  The photography is often dark figures
on a bright background to give the feel of the hot New Mexico
climate.  This would all be bleak if it were not for some light
dialog, especially between Hitch and Cole.  With one running gag
Cole has a propensity for using impressive words that are just on
the tip of his mind but no nearer.  He is anxious to use big three-
dollar words in an era when three dollars would have bought a lot
more than it does today.

The film is based on the novel by Robert B. Parker (who generally
writes about detectives Spenser and Jesse Stone).  In addition to
the other hats Harris wears in this production (and it usually is a
broad-brimmed black hat on screen) Harris also sings a song over
the end credits and proves to have nearly as good a singing voice
as that other actor-director Clint Eastwood.  The film has some
good actors in smaller roles like Timothy Spall and Lance
Henriksen. I am just not sure that Zellweger really feels like a
woman of the period.  Mortensen and Harris play well together like
two men who fit each other like comfortable old shoes.  Hitch might
like Cole's woman, but he usually knows not to push the issue.
Hitch is the better educated, but Cole is reading Emerson to try to
catch up.  Hitch knows that he has just book learning, but Cole
knows the job of handling ruffians and gunfighters.  Their byplay
and the little details of life in the 1880s are arguably more
important to the film than the inevitable big gunfight.

Most attempts to bring back the Western try to imitate the big
brash westerns.  This one is more like the minor B westerns of the
60's.  I rate APPALOOSA a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10.
For those who stick through the credits, the film's dedication is
to Ed "Big Red" Pennybacker.  He had a small role as the train
conductor but also was a popular newsman on KQUE in the Albuquerque
area.  He died in July.

Film Credits: <http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0800308/>


					Mark R. Leeper
					mleeper at optonline.net
					Copyright 2008 Mark R. Leeper