"Appaloosa" *** (out of ****)
I walked into "Appaloosa" fully expecting to love it. I was prepared to call it a masterpiece and declare it one of the year's best films. I can still say those things but I would be lying.
Is "Appaloosa" a bad film? Not at all. There is actually much to admire about Ed Harris' second directorial film (after "Pollock"). But I walked into that theatre with such high expectations I suppose the film couldn't live up to them.
"Appaloosa" has received generally good reviews but the majority of critics I respect all pretty much say the same thing and I have to agree, it is a good film but not a great one. Still, why harp on the bad? Why not celebrate the good things about this film?
Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen play two hired gun hands who go from town to town forcing out trouble makers. Harris plays Virgil Cole, who serves as a Marshall while Mortensen plays Everett Hitch, his deputy. They have been hired by the town of Appaloosa to defend them against Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) who is accused of killing the sheriff and his two deputies. Bragg's gang have all the townspeople in fear and feel Cole and Everett are their only hope. The two men agree to help but under one condition. Whatever Cole says is the law.
Right now we have the basic set-up of every western ever made. The group of bad guys causing trouble, the straight talking honest good guy ready to protect. And the inevitable showdown between the two.
Then from off the train a lady enters the town (don't they always in westerns?) Allison French (Renee Zellweger). She dressed nicely, speaks properly, plays the piano and best of all she says she not a whore. She immediately captures the attention of Cole.
And now we have the other ingredient in all westerns. The female touch. The woman who stands by her man but at the same time, in a sense, tames him.
This aspect of "Appaloosa", the masculine versus the feminine reminds me of John Ford's classic western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". There two there was a showdown between the two. Conservatism (masculinity) and Liberalism (femininity). Jimmy Stewart was the educated Liberal while John Wayne was the fighting Conservative who saved the day. Once Cole meets Allison she takes away his manhood. He appears, at least to Everett, to be losing sight of what they are in Appaloosa for. She has Cole picking out drapes, buying a home, complaining to Everett that he doesn't visit him. Allison feminizes Cole turning him into, by definition, a Liberal, a sissy. But the problem is, "Appaloosa" is not "Liberty Valance". The film doesn't tackle this material in the same way. "Appaloosa" is not as entertaining.
For the most part the performances are effective. Harris and Mortensen come out looking best. At first they both have a certain hard edge look to them. These guys are tough. They have seen a lot. The stares from their eyes suggest they are cold. Everett barely speaks, suggesting he is not a man of words but action, making him the Conservative, the man. The only two performances I wasn't very pleased with were Zellweger and Irons. I think both of them are great actors and have appeared in many films I enjoyed but Zellweger seems to be too much of a puzzle. What is she really like? What kind of person is she? Where does her loyalty lie? I don't want to give away plot points, but Zellweger becomes a mixture of various women we find in westerns.
Irons is good in the second half of the movie playing the sleazeball who claims to have been reformed. But in the beginning he didn't strike me as much of a villain. He doesn't instill fear in me. I had no problem believing he would lose a gunfight with Cole, if it ever can down to it.
Besides some fine performances I really liked the cinematography by Dean Semler ("Dances with Wolves"). He gives the film a classic western look with the wide-open landscape shot in extreme long shots. It might be the best thing about the film (after Harris and Mortensen).
I've never really been a big fan of the westerns. I've seen some that I like very much. As I have already mentioned Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" , is one of my favorites. I'm also a big fan of Fred Zinnemann's "High Noon" and John Sturges' "The Magnificent Seven". All of these films, I hate to say it, are better than "Appaloosa". They somehow manage to involve the audience more, makes us care more about their characters.
In the end though "Appaloosa" is worth seeing. It is a solid piece of filmmaking by Harris, who I hope makes more films down the road, maybe even another western. He could learn from his mistakes here. The final message of the film does resemble "Liberty Valance". It was the real man who saves the day and restores the feminine Liberal's honor. Only one of the men walk into the sunlight with pride and honor while the other stays behind.
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