Appaloosa
The Western genre was once a staple of American cinema with such great directors as John Ford and Howard Hawks at the reins. Cowboy movies were in high demand for several decades, resulting in such classics as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and High Noon. But somewhere along the way, the genre fell out of favour with the movie-going public and now it is nearly invisible in the modern movie landscape. The last ten years have produced only a handful of Western movies, most of which have resorted to modernizing or reinventing the genre in hopes of garnering more attention. With the genre in such disrepair, Ed Harris's cozy little movie Appaloosa arrives as a very welcome surprise. Based on a novel by Robert Parker, Appaloosa is as old-fashioned a Western as you're likely to see for years to come.
The story concerns itself with Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen), two drifter pals with an interest in keeping the peace. As Everett's rather unnecessary (but thankfully sparse) narration explains, the two men have been wandering from town to town for close to ten years, offering their services to protect the unprotected. The movie begins with them stumbling upon the town of Appaloosa, a dusty strip of buildings nestled in the desert of New Mexico. The citizens of Appaloosa have been continually harassed by a nasty bunch of men led by the sinister Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons, smartly refusing to chew the scenery). Virgil and Everett offer to adopt the roles of Marshall and Deputy in order to save the citizens of Appaloosa and the town leaders quickly accept the offer. Almost instantaneously, Virgil and Everett begin to make a difference.
Along the way, Virgil meets a nice young woman named Allie (Renee Zellweger) and romance begins to blossom between the pair. The option of a love triangle between Virgil, Allie, and Everett is flirted with, but happily steers clear of the obvious. As Virgil and Everett make their intentions clear to Bragg and his gang, the stakes are raised and the conflict deepens. But while the heroes versus villains storyline is integral to the plot, the movie's best moments are found in quiet scenes that illustrate the solid friendship of Virgil and Everett. The two men have a special bond and the characters come to life in humorous and moving ways due to sharp dialogue and solid acting.
Ed Harris steps behind the camera for only the second time in his career (the first was for the Oscar-winning Pollock back in 2000) and he shows a formidable talent for visual storytelling. He keeps the pace slow and the tone balanced as he paints a believably grounded portrait of life in the wild west. The camera frames the characters and the town in a loose and open manner, capturing dusty images with curiosity. The action sequences are exciting and believable, as Harris stages the action in a voyeuristic fashion.
Eventually, the movie's meandering quality grows tedious as the story begins to feel stretched for no better reason than to prolong the conclusion. The ponderous attitude of the movie's crawling narrative is left by the wayside as the movie blindly searches for an ending. The promise of a genuinely surprising conclusion fails to be realized, which is especially disappointing in light of the intriguing surprises that populate the rest of the movie. Despite these problems, Harris manages to keep his film from stumbling too far off course and so this cowboy tale still impresses.
By drawing inspiration from classic western movies and sticking to basics, Harris has crafted a simple movie that feels plucked from another time. His attention to detail and desire for realism are a strong fit in the cowboy universe and his stripped-down visual style allows the natural beauty of the time and location to filter in. With so few movies of this kind being made nowadays, Harris's little movie is refreshing in its almost archaic approach. Appaloosa may have its flaws, but its dedication to an ailing genre of great worth is wholly admirable and supremely satisfying.
