Review: ‘Appaloosa’

Nick:

Cast & Crew
Ed Harris… Virgil Cole
Viggo Mortensen… Everett Hitch
Renee Zellweger… Allison French
Jeremy Irons… Randall Bragg
Directed by Ed Harris
Screenplay by Ed Harris & Robert Knott
From the novel by Robert B. Parker

It has always been my understanding that things moved slower in the Old West, and Ed Harris’ ‘Appaloosa’ is just another confirmation of that fact, but-

That slow sensibility allows you to take in some exceptional character work by everyone involved. The leads are playing their “A” game here and they are obviously having fun. Harris and Mortensen are just as riveting playing good buddies here as they were playing mortal enemies in ‘A History of Violence.’ Zellweger, the love interest, is a breath of fresh air, too. Not a damsel in distress but a feisty woman who follows her own survival instincts. The relationship that develops between her and Harris’ character is very atypical for this kind of film and it is their relationship that takes the film into some deadpan situations not seen in your average Western. Jeremy Irons as the villainous rancher is a real dyed in the wool bastard and it’s fun to watch the actor so effortlessly vanish into his role.

The story concerns two gunfighters (Harris & Mortensen) and their inevitable showdown with the town’s out of control rancher (Irons); this is the de facto standard for Westerns but it is directed masterfully by Ed Harris. If you are a fan of Harris’ ‘Pollock’ and worried about a sophomore slump, then you can rest your fears. He proves to have a real talent behind the camera. He’s not afraid to let a camera linger for long silent stretches because he trusts the actors to convey the nuance and emotions that quick editing and flashy camera work can never replace.

This is a great movie and a fantastic Western.

[rating: 4.5/5]

Melissa:

Let me be the first to say that I have never been a big fan of westerns. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by Appaloosa!

Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) play two exceptional gunslingers traveling to troubled towns with the hired responsibility of taking the law into their own hands. The trouble in this town in a rancher by the name of Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons). His men basically run the town, eating, drinking, and taking what they please while bullying the townspeople. That is, until Virgil and Everett arrive.

Renee Zellweger plays Virgils’ love interest Allison French. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL HER TO LAY OFF THE BOTOX?! SERIOUSLY!!! Chicago, Briget Jone’s Diary, Jerry Maguire, Empire Records… all great movies! And even though she has that pinched face look… IT STILL MOVED! In this film all you see is Renee with pursed lips that appear to possibly be smiling, Renee with pursed lips that appear to possibly be frowning, and Renee with pursed lips. Please girl! Whatever you are doing to prevent aging… STOP! I for one would rather see you a bit wrinkly and emotional than tight skinned and frozen!

With the exception of Renee Zellweger, I was very pleased with the rest of the characters! They were interesting, well rounded and overall entertaining to watch. I truly believed that Virgil and Everett were brave men unafraid to die in order to save a town. That is, until Virgil falls for the scandalous Allison French. Allison is afraid of being alone, and is one of those girls who feels the need to be with the most powerful man in town. When power seems to shift, her dress seems to shift with it, and then quickly fall to the floor.

Braggs’ is an arrogant, yet eloquent villain with verbal linguistic skills that far surpass Virgils’ simplistic comprehension. This was a breath of fresh air in comparison to the usual ruffian villains of the western movie norm. In fact, the movie shows every character in a respectable light, as opposed to the ignorant, redneck type(ex. Biff and his friends in Back to the Future Part III!)

The movie doesn’t over extend the story for action. Instead it keeps with the feeling of truth, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much!

[rating:4.25/5]

Jeremy:

‘Appaloosa’, the new film by writer/director/actor/producer, Ed Harris, is an engaging reminder of the sweeping westerns of the ’50s and ’60s.   In recent years, westerns have come out few and far between.   It is difficult not to compare ‘Appaloosa’ to films like ‘3:10 to Yuma’ or ‘Assassination of Jesse James’, but all three films are quite different.   ‘3:10 to Yuma’ was a coarse film about hard-edged men.   ‘Assassination of Jesse James’ was an epic rendition of the complexities between its two, leading stars.   ‘Appaloosa’ is a much lighter film in tone than these other two, but that doesn’t mean it is any less relevant.

The film stars Harris and Viggo Mortensen as Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, respectively.   The two are friends who travel together, hired from town to town by local authorities to “clean up” the community.   In Appaloosa, the two are hired to take care of a murderous rancher (Jeremy Irons) and his gang.

‘Appaloosa’ is based on the 2005 novel by Robert B. Parker, who is more notable as a writer of crime novels.   This element shows in the modern way the characters are fleshed out.   Cole is a hard man, but his diminutive vocabulary and his uneasiness around the fairer sex make him so much more life-like.   Hitch appears to be the brains and the muscle behind the group, but his devotion to Cole is unyielding.

It might be blasphemous, particularly given the past few weeks, to compare these two characters to Butch and Sundance.   Rather, it might be in poor form to compare the relationship between Harris and Mortensen to that of Newman and Redford, but the shoe definitely fits.

The best aspect of ‘Appaloosa’ is this connection between its two, male leads.   You get the sense early on that these two have been on many adventures together, that the stories the duo could tell would fill a library.   We don’t see their introduction to one another.   All we get is a short, little snippet of information from Mortensen doing voice-over early on.   It wouldn’t work at all were it not for the way the two actors seem to genuinely get along.   They just feel like best of friends.   You can’t imagine what might come between them, and, then, Renee Zellweger’s Allie French shows up.

Allie is a well-constructed character, much more fleshed out than most female roles in westerns.   You understand why Cole falls head-over-heels in love with her the moment he meets her.   That scene is brilliant, as it revolves around Harris’ discomfort and Mortensen’s baffled reactions to his friend.

But, as light as ‘Appaloosa’ is, there are also moments of great excitement.   The action is anything but nonstop, but it is all memorable.   One particular shootout starts and stops within a matter of a few seconds.   It’s quick but effective, and it ends with a great dialogue exchange commenting on how fast it went.

Harris has a very gifted eye, and it pays that he took so much time getting this film to the big screen.   We get nice shots of the New Mexico landscape, but it never feels gratuitous.   He does a nice job trading in the director’s hat for the actor’s hat, as well.   You never feel like he is spreading himself too thin.

The only things the film falters on are a couple of the performances.   Zellweger seems to sour-puss her way through the film.   This is something she has been accused of before, and it’s no different here.   Someone a little more grounded and a little less puffy would have done wonders with the character written.   Diane Lane was initially signed on to play Allie.   I can imagine how great that would have been.   I don’t want to say Zellweger is a bad actress.   She was great in another western, 2003’s ‘Cold Mountain’.   She just doesn’t seem to fit in here.

Irons, likewise, is out of place.   His performance is all over the map, as is his accent.   Sometimes he doesn’t seem to bother covering up his British accent.   Other times, it seems he is channeling Daniel Day-Lewis from ‘There Will Be Blood’.   Irons is a brilliant actor, but that isn’t seen here.

These setbacks, though, are all but made up for by the other supporting players.   Timothy Spall and James Gammon are great as a couple of members of the town committee.   Lance Henriksen is always great, and he doesn’t disappoint here as a gun-for-hire.   Even Bob Harris, Ed’s father, turns in a good performance as a judge.

Harris states before ‘Appaloosa’ was even released that he wanted to film a follow-up to it.   This news couldn’t be more accepted.   The film doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, by any means, but you are left wanting more.   ‘Appaloosa’ is a fine example of the American westerns of old.   This is the kind of story that would have had John Ford and John Wayne frothing at the mouth to get their hands on.   It’s a fine film filled with great comedy, drama and excitement, just about everything a good western needs to succeed.

[rating:4/5]

Zac:

Ed Harris directs another solid entry into the new era of Westerns and it fits right in with 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James in terms of both quality and entertainment.

Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) is a well to do entrepreneur and gang leader in the New Mexico Territory and he is confronted by a Marshall and his deputies with the need to arrest a couple of his men for the rape and murder of a couple in the town of Appaloosa.   After Bragg displays his inability to part with his men, he shoots the Marshall and Deputies dead when they try to apprehend his men, and that is where our story begins.

The town of Appaloosa turns to a pair of gun men, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), who have a reputation of turning around a town over run by an unruly gang.   Virgil promises to clean up the town and bring down Bragg to the board of the town and he wastes no time doing so.   Just as the pair roles into town, so does a sweet looking lady in Ally French (Renà ©e Zellweger) who clicks with Virgil over coffee and lunch at the local restaurant.   The courtship escalates quickly and the move fairly fast to the surprise of Everett and I think even Virgil.   While the three warm up to one another, a break in the Bragg case falls into Virgil and Everett’s laps and they make their move.

I will share no more, but the plot is full of twists and turns and is never predictable.   In fact, the film is very unconventional from start to finish, you never really get a grasp on what is going to happen next, and I found myself thinking I had the plot figured out and it constantly surprised me.   Harris does a nice job of passing and keeps the film moving forward always, rarely wasting a frame.   The chemistry he gets out of himself and Viggo is fantastic as well, and they are just a blast to watch and you feel like these guys have been great friends forever.

Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen’s acting abilities sell their relationship and it is what really makes this film so enjoyable.   Neither one of them is just a straight badass, they are both tough, but they have layers to them though we still never doubt them in the moment.   They bounce back and forth off one another with ease, and provide plenty of humor throughout the picture.   Viggo takes the cake as top notch though I feel, but that is to be expected; though he doesn’t over shadow Irons or Harris who are just nipping at his heals.   Irons makes Bragg an interesting villain, selling him as smart and sophisticated who is just as likely to fleece your money as he is to shoot you dead.   It would have nice to see a bit more crime and anarchy created by his gang but as it stands it still works out just fine.   Zellweger has some fun in her role, as Ally isn’t just a sweet damsel in distress, but she doesn’t stand out like the rest of the cast, though she does a fine job still on her own.

Speaking of the Alley character, the plot revolving around her is a bit unexpected, and kind of dumbfounding for a while, but trust me, one scene sums it up, and shows that everyone gets it and it becomes kind of a joke throughout the rest of the film.   Also, if you are looking for a guns a blazing western, this is not it;  there are a couple of shoot outs, but nothing big or drawn out.   The shoot outs are very quick and real, and Virgil has a line that sums up the action in this film perfectly in the later part of the picture.   Though, don’t let the lack of gunfights dishearten, as there is plenty of tension and suspense mixed with great character work and humor that keeps this film going; the relationship is also akin to Butch and Sundance it works so well.

Appaloosa is one of the better films of the year while continuing to prove that the Western is not a dead genre.   I hope we continue to get one or two a year and that they are made at the level of quality of this and the other recent entries have been made.   If you are a fan of the western get out and see this great flick, it will grow on you as you think about it, and will definitely make you want to see it again.

[rating: 4.5/5]