“Appaloosa” wanders a little like the old western trail… it could have held the average audience better with tighter editing

 If you like Westerns, you’ll like this movie more than the average audience… and while its central theme of the friendship between the characters played by Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen will keep you interested, its lingering moments and lengthy shots may have you checking the time until this nearly two-hour long movie wraps up.

 “Appaloosa”

(2008) (rated: R for some violence and language) (1 hr, 54 min)

Starring: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger, Timothy V. Murphy, James Gammon, Timothy Spall, Tom Bower, Rex Linn, Lance Henriksen, Luce Rains, James Tarwater

Genre: Western/Drama

The Plot: Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

MY TAKE (spoiler free):

Please don’t get me wrong… I appreciate great landscapes and cinematography… they are a great device for putting the audience in the setting and reminding them they are still there… but where so many great movies use the device to perfection, it may be “Appaloosa”’s achilles heel.

Of course, I did go into this movie with the knowledge that the movie would have some lingering shots – since Ed Harris told us that when I talked to him  about “Appaloosa”, but I didn’t think all those long shots would add up so much!

While this movie fights to conform to the typical modern western (with the lengthy shots and limited action sequences), its is well made with great lines, some humor, really good cinematography, and good costumes and set design.

There’s more dialogue and focus on relationships (Ed and Viggo), than ”shoot ‘em up” action sequences – although I really didn’t mind that – it felt like we were following the characters along in a sort of “day in the life” of a lawman story.

Harris and Mortensen were perfect for these roles… the relationship they cultivate in this movie gives you the feeling these two guys have been enforcing the law for years together…. their relationship has a lot of depth and layers… but is woven well into the plot.

The villian glove fits Jeremy Irons (despite the british accent), … the supporting cast was solid… but Reneè didn’t fit this movie… the other women in the movie fit well, but I just wasn’t buying all of Reneè’s performance… it seemed forced or unnatural like she wasn’t comfortable with the character…. she wanted to be in the movie… but her acting just didn’t work here.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

The version we see in the theaters could have been the Director’s cut that is re-released months after the movie is seen in theaters, but because of lingering shots, slow plot moments, and limited action… I give it 6.9 out of 10…. just short of recommending you to see it at the theater.    I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Academy Award nomination from this movie – although it may be more in the line of screenplay, costumes, set design, or cinematography.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

“Appaloosa” poster courtesy New Line Cinema

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