In early 1881, Pat Garrett (James Coburn), an aging outlaw, is elected Sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. He is pressured by Governor Lew Wallace (Jason Robards) and business interests to track down former partner William H. Bonney, alias Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) and his gang. Bonney is captured but escapes, killing two deputies (Matt Clark and R.G. Armstrong), and Garrett - accompanied by several reluctant and generally short-lived deputies (Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Jack Elam, Richard Jaeckel) and one hired to keep an eye on Garrett (John Beck) - is forced to track down his former friend, decimating his gang in the process. Garrett is made to feel guilty over "getting fat" and betraying Billy, and when he finally confronts the Kid, it seems like he's killing himself.
Perhaps even more than the infamous "Major Dundee", "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" is touted by Peckinpah fans as a lost masterpiece, ruined by studio interference. One can only hear such an argument so many times before concluding that many Peckinpah fans are, in their own way, just as deluded as the most hardcore Trekkies or "Star Wars" fans. Refusing to face up to the fact their favorite director was a drunken, violent, confrontational, unfocused individual who more often than not had no idea what the hell he was doing, Peckinpah fans attack the studio, blaming them for everything that went wrong with the films. Admittedly, Columbia on "Dundee" and MGM here did seriously hurt the films, to say the least; but they can be hardly blamed for the fact that Peckinpah completely misapprehended what he was doing on the films and was, more often than not, his own worst enemy.
The biggest problem with "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid", even in its director's cut form, is that is unfocused and virtually plot less; only a few characters appear for more than one or two scenes, and most scenes play as isolated episodes. It is also a surprisingly distant film, especially compared to "Ride the High Country" and "The Wild Bunch", and it's virtually impossible (for this writer at least) to become deeply involved in. Billy in particular is hard to care much about, as he does little more than drink, kill, and whore throughout the course of the film. And the theme that Garrett and co. are selling out is expounded upon so often that you think Rudy Wurlitzer was getting paid for each time he wrote them.
The use of Western icons like Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Richard Jaeckal, etc. in various bit parts actually (with a few exceptions) undermines what Peckinpah is trying to achieve; by not letting us get to know these characters, it becomes virtually impossible to sympathize with them. Slim Pickens' famous death scene is allegedly the most poignant and moving scene in the film, but as we just met him two minutes ago when he buys it, it's hard to really care what happens to him; I'm more concerned with L.Q. Jones' death in the same sequence. Some cast members are outright terrible: John Beck is obnoxious as Poe, and while that's appropriate to the character he grates on the viewer's nerves. A very young Charles Martin Smith whines his way through the opening scene as a particularly obnoxious cohort of Billy's. Emilio Fernandez, so effective as General Mapache, has a worthless role as Paco, the Mexican sheep-farmer who befriends Billy, and his scenes are some of the worst Peckinpah ever filmed. Richard Jaeckal gives a wooden performance and his horrible-looking wig doesn't help matters. But most of the cast members simply aren't around long enough to make much impact - Pickens, Jurado, Paul Fix, Dub Taylor, Elisha Cook Jr., Jason Robards, and Barry Sullivan (among many others) are all in the film for five minutes or less. Bob Dylan's bit has little impact on the film; his music, however, is borderline terrible. It might be good outside of the film, but for the most part it distracts from the action.
The film does, however, have sporadic moments of brilliance, starting with James Coburn's performance as Garrett. Coburn gives the best performance of his career, as the sarcastic, biting, fatalistic Garrett. He is a nice counterpart to Deke Thornton, but even more compromised. Garrett genuinely regrets most of his actions - many of his confrontations with Billy's gang are outright murder - but does them anyway. Coburn is wonderfully subtle and you believe he IS Garrett, rather than acting the part. Kris Kristofferson is good if unremarkable as Billy, though he can hardly be blamed for the poor interpretation of his character. And there are some members of the supporting cast who are effective: Richard Bright and L.Q. Jones as two of Billy's more colorful gang members, R.G. Armstrong, playing the psychopathic Deputy Ollinger ("Repent, you son of a bitch!"), and Chill Wills as a gutter-mouthed, shotgun-toting bartender.
Peckinpah's direction is sporadically brilliant. The shootouts of the film are blunt and violent and lack the visceral thrill of "The Wild Bunch". This is not a criticism; in fact, it is very effective. There are some truly brilliant sequences; the shootout at Billy's hideout and Billy's escape from jail, the chance encounter and duel between Billy and Alamosa Bill (Jack Elam), the murder of Holly (Bright) by Garrett, Peckinpah's own cameo as a coffin maker, Garrett shooting the mirror after killing the Kid.
"Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" is a difficult and frustrating film to write about. For every good scene there's one that makes you scratch your head and ask "What the hell's going on?" It's a film with occasionally great scenes, but please don't call it a masterpiece. It's a fatally flawed film, plain and simple.
7/10
