Vintage

Open Range, starring Kevin Costner as the subdued, melancholic, rather "Eastwood-like" Charlie, is the classic straightforward western hero in every sense of the genre. Don't expect too many surprises in Open Range, which Costner directs as well as stars in, but his play-it-close-to-the-vest approach to the western is refreshing and succeeds beautifully.

Robert Duval's "Boss" is his mentor, a man who for the most part is only an unwavering foundation of the old code of the west. Charlie, who carries with him a dark past and a skill for killing men, looks to Boss as a son would a father.

All the typical elements of a western are present: Corrupt Sheriff with his hired guns, a mean rancher that intimidates the town folk and in sense rules it with an iron fist.  Most of their relationship is built on unspoken communications. These are men of few words, but many understandings - sort of like the prairies and ranges they traverse.

Amidst backdrops of breathtaking scenery, they brave magnificent thunderstorms and pitch tent shelters for card games in the mud. Trouble starts when Moose goes to town for supplies and gets the living hell beat out of him because he belongs to a group of hated "free-grazers."

As a result, Charlie’s buddies all go to town, people get killed, the good guys face the bad guys in all out show down, which as far as westerns go, is a darned good one. Oh yes, Annette Benning plays a women waiting for a guy like Kevin Costner to show up. She's good too - manly from the standpoint that if she were not in the film, it would be hard to convince your girlfriend or wife that what she is seeing is a not a tough-guy man flick, which it is.

I believe the Eastwood film Unforgiven played a large influence on Costner here. Costner's acting, although adequate, is every bit inspired by Clint Eastwood's personality and it shows in all his dialogue, unless Eastwood is simply the quintessential tough cowboy and to emulate thus is to emulate the East.

Consider Charlie's words, "Are you the one that killed our friend?" He follows this up by splitting a man's forehead with some lead. How about when he explains to Annette Benning, "Make no mistake about it. People are going to get killed today and I plan on killing them."

Okay, maybe Eastwood didn't invent the tough guy cowboy archetype (John Wayne was pretty good at it too), but he always played the role much as expected, with great success.  Duval on the other hand, is a master of character nuance. It was easy to think he was simply playing his "Gus McCray" character from the Lonesome Dove epic, a role that he worked like a virtuoso and one in which he ostensibly took great pride in. However, his "Boss" character is a fundamentally different than the lovable, easy-going, whore-connoisseur, Gus from Dove.  He was more solemn and fatherly. 

Still, it would not be too far of a stretch to say this movie is like having Duval's Gus from Lonesome Dove paired with Eastwood's William Muney from Unforgiven. In Open Range they even had a frame house under construction, which to me was very evocative of the unfinished house Gene Hackman's "Little Bill" was constantly building in Unforgiven. Maybe I should stop talking about Unforgiven, which is clearly a better movie, but this one isn’t that far behind.  If you disagree, meet me at high noon. 

Matthew J. DeReno is a cowpoke in Pittsburgh.