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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Stories of redemption and
revenge have always been at the core of westerns.
Kevin Costner's "Open Range" recalls both "Dances
with Wolves" with its languid pacing and eye for
fine detail for living in the 19th century. The
well-drawn characters and performances that seem
as if they could have been drawn from the
frontier, give life to Costner's film. The subject
matter was drawn from conflicts in real life: free
range cattle were driven from land as cattle
barons fenced in more and more of the open spaces.
If Costner's latest elegiac western fails to meet
the expectations of the genre's best, perhaps its
because the genre seems at a creative dead end,
much as it was before Sergio Leone and Clint
Eastwood helped reinvent the western. Costner's
own "Dances with Wolves" went a long way to try
and reinvent the genre, in the mythic style of
John Ford. And with "Open Range" he is at least
partially successful.
Charlie (Costner), Boss (Robert Duvall), Mose
(Abraham Benrubi from "E.R.") and Button (Diego
Luna) are driving their cattle across the country
to market. Even though Charlie and Boss have been
riding together 10 years, they know next to
nothing about each other's past; there's a
darkness that haunts Charlie and Boss about which
they've never spoken to each other. The ghosts of
their memories will soon rear their ugly heads.
They've chosen a life without any roots and, as
such, they literally have become their own family.
Their cattle survive by eating in the open ranges
across the west. Unfortunately, open ranges are
disappearing as if there's a fire sale going on,
as rancher's fence up the surrounding countryside
even when it doesn't belong to them. When Mose is
attacked and injured in a fight with goons working
for a nasty cattle baron named Baxter (Michael
Gabon, in a significantly oily and evil
performance), Charlie and Boss must get him out of
jail. When they have his injuries attended to by
the local doctor, Charlie meets the down-to-earth
Sue (Annette Benning). There's an instant
attraction between them (he keeps his distance
believing her to be married to the doctor). When
Baxter's men attack their wagon, killing and
injuring their friends, the two men return to the
town seeking justice and revenge.
Beautifully shot by cinematographer James Muro and
well-written by Craig Storper there are elements
of Open Range that recall "Unforgiven"; that's no
surprise as Costner had tried to purchase, star
and direct that film before Clint Eastwood made
off with it. Similar elements no doubt attracted
Costner to "Open Range" but there's also a feeling
here of hopefulness that was missing from the much
darker and brooding "Unforgiven."
At 139 minutes the film is a tad too long but
clearly Costner's attempt to capture the lifestyle
of the free range cowboy was very important to
him. These details make the film and performances
more believable.
The picture quality is outstanding. The sound mix
sounds a tad flat -- it's better in 5.1 DTS.
Extras include an audio commentary by Costner and
a handful of very good featurettes on a second
disc, including "America's Open Range," a look at
the history of the open range (Costner provides
the narration), "Beyond Open Range," a fascinating
glimpse at the creative decisions Costner had to
make to produce the film, deleted scenes with
optional commentary, and storyboard sequences.
There is also a nicely put together Music Video
Montage featuring the late Michael Kamen's
beautifully evocative score. |
