d6a2afd33b Boss Spearman, Charley Waite, Mose Harrison and Button freegraze their cattle across the vast prairies of the West, sharing a friendship forged by a steadfast code of honor and living a life unencumbered by civilization. When their wayward herd forces them near the small town of Harmonville, the cowboys encounter a corrupt sheriff and kingpin rancher who govern the territory through fear, tyranny and violence. Boss and Charley find themselves inextricably drawn towards an inevitable showdown,they are forced to defend the freedom and values of a lifestyle that is all too quickly vanishing. Amidst the turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for the loner Charley when he meets the beautiful and warm spirited Sue Barlow, a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul. This tale of the Old West (let&#39;s avoid the term western) works on many fronts. It blends the expected violence with pathos, romance, and even comedy. The film opens with four cow hands (Robert DuvallBoss; Kevin CostnerCharlie Waite; Abraham BenrubiMose, the gentle, boy-like cook; and Diego Luna,Buttons, a 16 year old Spanish kid that has been taken in by the older cowboys) pushing a cattle herd. After a hard rain, Boss determines that Mose needs to go back to a town they passed and get extra supplies. When he fails to return, the two older men go after him. They find he has been beaten by a local rancher&#39;s men and then arrested for starting the fight. Going to the jail, they confront the corrupt town marshall (James Russo) and the rancher (Michael Gambon), who has a stranglehold on the town and a dislike for open range cattlemen. Mose is released and taken to a doctor (Dean McDermott), where the men also meet the doc&#39;s sister (Annette Bening), whom they initially mistake for his wife. Romance blooms! The men head back to the range, but are confronted by hooded riders and disaster that sends them on a path of revenge. Charlie&#39;s historya former gunfighter slowly surfaceshe plans out the impending shootout. The plot of this movie is not original, but the execution of the characters is so clear and convincing that it transcends the story. Annette Benning is so appealing in her rolespinster sister with standards a little too high for the locals. Surprisingly, the two characters I found only good were Robert Duvall, who reprised his cowboy role from &quot;Lonesome Dove&quot;, and Michael Gambon, who played a stereotypical town bad guy. The character who really stood out was Kevin Costner. He captured the dual nature of the western gunslinger herowell or better than Clint Eastwood did in &quot;The Unforgiven&quot;. In each case, we get to see the efficient, ruthless killer that resides in the same bodythe really nice guy you meet early on. They were always good at killing. Zane Grey wrote about this in his classic westerns and very few westerns have captured this. Even movies like &quot;Shane&quot; and &quot;High Noon&quot; left us with a nice guy for a hero.<br/><br/>Kevin Costner gets the gets the main characters right and makes this a really wonderful western that I enjoy watching again and again. It has what it takes to be one of the great westerns. Targeted by a corrupt lawman who detests &quot;free grazers&quot;, an elderly open range cattleman decides to take action - a decision that forces his younger partner to reluctantly rekindle his violent past - in this Old West tale directed by Kevin Costner. Clocking in at over two hours long, the film drags on occasion (particularly in the scenes with love interest Annette Bening), but for the most part, the pacing is spot-on with much time dedicated to the leisurely lifestyle that cattleman Robert Duvall and his three underlings lead until their peace is shattered by the anti-free grazer attitude of a town they cross. The film additionally benefits from a rousing Michael Kamen score and Costner&#39;s directing eye when it comes to untouched natural landscapes; his performance here might not rate among his best, but it is hard to deny how good-looking a film he has crafted. What truly elevates &#39;Open Range&#39; above other revenge tales though is Duvall&#39;s firm moral stance and Costner&#39;s quivering onethe man with the violent past; &quot;justice and vengeance … them are different things&quot;Duvall reminds Costner at a key point. In fact, were it not the Bening love interest subplot, this would ratean extremely tight and tense filmic experience. That said, Bening does serve some purposeshe helps Costner&#39;s character to remember how human he is despite his checkered violent past. In all, the film is a striking, if flawed, achievement by a talented actor who may become an important director if he sticks to the genre that suits him best.
moramposi Admin replied
371 weeks ago