Review of Appaloosa (2008) by Josh M — 11 Oct 2009

The single most damning comment I can make about Appaloosa is how maddeningly generic it is. In the wake of everything from The Wild Bunch to The Proposition, the Western has been turned inside out and re-invented, so the idea of a classic-feeling Western should be appealing, especially with Mortensen, Harris, and Irons all starring.

And yet, Appaloosa isn't sure if it wants to be classic or revisionist, and what's worse, it doesn't do either all that well. Appaloosa is one of those films that there's nothing really technically wrong with - the actors decent, the direction adequate, and the plot.

..well, okay, the plot is less than thrilling. The "evil rancher" is barely used, and that's a crime with someone like Irons; the main plot, about the relationship between Harris and Zellwegger, is pretty bad and comes across as being more than a little misogynistic.

But even that never really gets to be bad enough to be truly hateful; it just sort of coasts along to an ending that, to paraphrase Ebert, isn't just an insult to anticlimaxes, but also to climaxes and the idea of prefixes.

In the end, it's been less than a day since I watched Appaloosa, and apart from one good exchange regarding a gunfight ("That was quick." "That's because we all knew how to shoot.

"), I remember almost nothing of note from the film. That says it all, I think.