Dir.
Kevin Costner, 2003, USA, 139 mins
Cast:
Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon
Perhaps one of the reasons that the western has fallen out of favour as a genre is because we are all so familiar with its structure. Indeed it vies with horror as the genre with the most apparent signifiers and, like horror, the well worn clichés have become commonplace from over 100 years of cinema, taking the post-modern deconstruction of Wes Craven's Scream (1996) to reinvigorate it. Although the western has often been revitalised, these brief resurrections tend to be short-lived.
While Kevin Costner has already made three previous contributions to the western, Silverado, Wyatt Earp and the hugely successful Dances With Wolves (which garnered him a slew of awards including Best Director Oscar in 1990), Open Range is perhaps the most traditional and least deconstructed of the three.
Violent tensions break out between cattle grazer Boss Spearman (Duvall) and Irish Landowner Denton Baxter (Gambon). As well as the traditional cowboy code, Spearman has a weapon in the shape of Charley Waite (Costner) a cattleman with a violent past. As the battle lines are drawn it slowly becomes apparent that Waite is becoming romantically interested with the town doctor, Sue Barlow (Bening).
Part of the enjoyment of the film lies in playing spot the cliché, and there are plenty of plot points that have already been exploited in countless films of the genre. Costner makes scant attempt at a revisionist reading of western mythology in the same way that Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992) did so successfully over ten years ago. This is not to say that Costner's film is a step back into high gloss Roy Rogers territory, but Open Range presents a far more optimistic future for its protagonists.
The film's largest flaw is the lack of screen time given to Gambon. As a snarling villain his scenes are excellent but his absence from the bulk of the narrative is puzzling, bearing all the hallmarks of a role reduced. This is not the only performance that the film squanders. A sneering villain is also cut down at the start of a ferocious battle, leaving Baxter's men as faceless cannon fodder for the rest of the fight.
The central romance also lacks credibility. We are asked to believe that Charley and Sue fall in love after a handful of scenes in which there is no chemistry between them. Bening largely simpers in a flat role which is a pity given her past success in films such as American Beauty.
Duvall contributes a strong performance as Spearman, particularly as both he and Wade know so little about each other despite their years working together. With a lesser actor in the role, the lack of information given away would become a frustrating annoyance. Happily Duvall manages to form a well-rounded characterisation from practically nothing. Certain light touches add a sense of charm, such as Spearman and Jimmy eating chocolate before the climatic battle and the men being unable to get their clumsy fingers into the handles of Sue's delicate china tea cups.
Costner delivers a measured, deadpan performance that lacks much of the emotional depth needed to pull off his role. To his credit the film is well directed during certain action sequences yet he seems to fail when it comes to injecting life into the character based scenes. This would not be a problem in a fast paced action piece but in a slow two-and-a-half-hour film (the majority of which wants to be a character study) it spells disaster.
The film boasts the kind of beautiful landscapes that you only really see in westerns, as cattle are herded through picturesque valleys which are contrasted beautifully with the ramshackle ugliness of the man-made town.
The film comes to life in its final act, which sees the obligatory violent showdown on the town's deserted streets. Although this might seem to be the most obvious cliché imaginable, Costner successfully makes the fight seem fresh and exciting. Clever sound design, dramatic angles and effective stunt work during this scene lends a sense of tension to what should be familiar and predictable.
While there is much to recommend Open Range, it ultimately fails due to Costner's usual error of stretching out the narrative to far longer than is comfortable. While undeniably accomplished in places, the film retreads similar ground first visited by the likes of John Ford. Sadly Costner lacks Ford's ability to marry strong characterisation with western mythology.
Jonathan Wilkins
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