Thursday, October 9, 2008
In Ed Harris’ second film, Appaloosa, his modest skills are on full display in the Western starring himself along with the genuinely cool Viggo Mortensen and unbearably awful Renee Zellweger.If you’ve ever seen a Western before, you have undoubtedly seen a better production.
The plot is typical of the genre and does not deviate from predictability, hitting every major cliché along the way. Harris plays Virgil Cole, a strict lawman who has a reputation for marksmanship and being a quick draw. He and his deputy (Mortensen) are hired to protect the titular town of Appaloosa from the rancher and scoundrel Bragg (Jeremy Irons), who killed the city’s former law enforcers. The obligatory love interest is Allie French (Zellweger), whose appearance in the town is nonsensical and unexplained. Virgil falls for Allie, who is later revealed to be a genuinely wanton saucebox who jeopardizes Virgil’s duty to uphold law and order. The film follows the blueprint for Westerns, including a couple of shoot-outs, some ornery Indians and a cowboy riding off into the setting sun.
Zellweger hasn’t been this annoying or unconvincing in a late 19th century-set film since Cold Mountain. The score would be better suited to a female cop show. And the credit song is by Tom Petty, which is the best use of classic rock music in a period piece since the equally terrible A Knight’s Tale.
If a filmmaker decides to take up the monumental task of making a Western— a great American art form—he should deliver an innovative slant. A two-hour audio track of Walter Brennan saying “Dude” would have been more entertaining and more inventive. Do not see this movie. Rent Rio Bravo instead.
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