Appaloosa

Appaloosa as a western is okay, as a movie its okay, but as a character study it's great. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are two of the most underrated actors (not stars) in Hollywood. Viggo should have had two or three Oscars by now. His rendition of Everett Hitch made the whole movie more than worthwhile. He's a man of little words but great thought. He also an observant man, of things and people. He's loyal but with practicality. He knows what the two of them do and why they do it and he know enough about Virgil not to step on his toes. But he also knows when to say what he as to say and leave it at that. I'm never that impressed by Renee Zellweger but in this movie she sort of fit in. 7/10

Appaloosa is based on the 2005 novel of the same name written by Robert B. Parker. It's directed by Ed Harris, who also co-writes the story with Robert Knott. Harris also stars alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons & Lance Henriksen. Music is by Jeff Beal and Dean Semler provides cinematography on location in Albuquerque, Austin and Santa Fe.

Appaloosa is in the grip of bully boy rancher Randall Bragg (Irons), who finally oversteps the mark when the latest Marshall and his deputies are killed in cold blood. The townsfolk decide enough is enough and hire no nonsense travelling lawmen Virgil Cole (Harris) and his sidekick Everett Hitch (Mortensen) to protect and serve the town. Ruling with a rod of iron, Cole & Hitch start to bring order to Appaloosa, but the arrival in town of pretty Allie French (Zellweger) causes quite a stir between the two men. Bad timing too since the guys are trying to get Bragg to his rightful execution.

In the modern era the Western has been the hardest genre for film makers to tackle. You can probably count on one hand the number of great or agreeable ones that have surfaced post Costner and Eastwood's efforts of 1990 and 1992 respectively. Enter Ed Harris, who undaunted by the long odds of getting a Western to be successful; and suffering worrying overtures from his backers at New Line Cinema, got Appaloosa made. Well made as it happens.

Since the story itself is etched like the Wyatt Earp legend, there's really no fresh perspective on offer here. In fact, anyone familiar with Edward Dmytryk's excellent Warlock from 1959 will feel some narrative déjà vu. But Appaloosa does have strong performances and lush landscapes to see it successfully home. Slotting in a good helping of action, romance and humour also goes some way to making Harris' movie a worthy modern day Oater. True, the cliche's are many, but Harris wasn't after revisionism, he wanted (and got) old fashioned Oater values. A film that follows those old beloved B movie Western conventions, but one that still retains a topical criminal thread.

The best reward in the film comes from spending time with Harris & Mortensen. Their characters are nicely drawn and not over cooked by the script. Cole & Hitch are devoted to each other, lots of straight love and respect exists between the two men. Their bond is believably brought to life by Harris & Mortensen, who formed a friendship when making A History Of Violence for David Cronenberg in 2005. Zellweger and Irons too are not without high merit value. She (stepping in when Diane Lane walked over delays), is pleasing and captivates in what is the critical glue role. While he is dandy dastardly supreme, a well spoken villain of much intelligence and crafty as a cat.

Appaloosa is a subtle film, both in story and as a technical production. Beal's score is unobtrusive, while Semler's photography manages to deliver that old fashioned feel that Harris was after (the low lighting for the interiors is particularly on the money) . Harris' direction is smooth and unhurried in pace, with the odd inspired bit thrown in for good measure (check out the up-tilt camera work during a train on a bridge sequence). While the production design can't be faulted. All that and you got the likes of Henriksen and Timothy Spall in the support cast too. A lovely film that is as tight as the friendship at its core. 7.5/10

One reviewer remarked how "Ed Harris understands (the) Western (genre)" I couldn't agree more. This film is a delight. The writing is solid, the dialog sparked with humor, the heroes are more than caricatures and cardboard cut-outs, the villains are worthy anti-heroes and the back-up is wonderful. The performances of Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons as the main protag-/antagonists are sterling. Harris is the lonely paladin, uncompromising in his ethic, drawn in by the warmth and softness of a needful woman, artfully and convincingly played by Renee Zellweger; Mortensen is the slightly jaded sidekick who both respects and doesn't completely understand his hero. A parallel villain is offered by Lance Henrikson, a kind of poor man's Clint Eastwood, giving an interesting twist to the story. Some comic relief is offered by veteran character actor, James Gammon and fine British actor Timothy Spall without reducing the tension in the story line or reverting to a burlesque. The mythic theme of the knight-errant works well in this presentation brought to light by the competent direction of Ed Harris. My only fear is that it being devoid of ballet-type ritual killings, CGI and only a mild spattering of violence, it will likely fly under the radar of much of today's theater goers, which is a shame. It's a fine film.

There are always the men who live breathe violence and the women who hold their breath. Two famous ¨town tamer¨ named Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Stitch(Viggo Mortensen)come hired by the citizens (Timothy Spall, James Gammon) to rid a rancher ( Jeremy Irons), and his hoodlums (Lance Henriksen, among others). The villagers are suffering under the rule of the cruel Baronland. Virgil and Everett as lawmen are appointed deputies to bring peace and put some cartels warning that wearing of guns or other weapons in the little town is banned. Virgil meets a youngster widow named Allison (Renee Zellweger) and the problems emerge and complicate. But the town council afraid the raw methods carried out by the duo. Then the kingpin landowner appears and threats them.

This is a tremendously exciting story of a sheriffs-for-hire who had only one more killing to go. It begins as a slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with interesting characters and solid plot. The tale is almost grim , a pacifiers come to a town just in time to make sure its citizenry but later the events get worse .Good modern Western with exciting battle of wits between obstinate marshals and an astute killer who begins to psych him out. Stylish, fast paced , nice performance, solid, meticulous and violent look with several shootouts .The highlights of the movie are the kidnapping and the climatic showdown at the ending. Phenomenal and great roles for Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen as veteran drifters and embittered gunfighters, they're the whole show. Vivid and lively musical score fitting rightly to action Western by Jeff Beal. Atmospheric and colorful cinematography by Dean Semler. The motion picture is stunningly directed by Ed Harris who is preparing its following, he also directed another good film titled ¨Pollock¨ . Watchable results for this outlandish Western.

In the old West, two men ride into a small town to establish some law and order. This is a leisurely paced Western and it's quite enjoyable for the most part, but sort of runs out of steam about two-thirds of the way through. It is mostly a character study, with much time spent on low-key exchanges between Harris and Mortensen as the two lawmen, with some of the scenes reminiscent of "My Darling Clementine." Not that it's anywhere close to being as good as that classic. Zellweger seems like a curious choice to play a woman who arrives in town and strikes up a romance with Harris. She just looks out of place in a Western. It's not a bad second effort for Harris behind the camera.