Review of Open Range (2003) by Chris W — 10 Nov 2011

I've seen this a few times, so I can't believe that I hadn't reviewed this on here until now. Odd. Anyways, Kevin Costner returns to the western as actor and director for this finely observed rehashing of a tale of revenge and redemption. It's a contemporary film, but has the feel of an old school western.

The story is set in Montana in 1882 (though it was filmed in Canada) and uses the range wars as the historical backdrop and context. Good choice. For those who don't know, the range wars were a series of conflicts during the late 1800s where free range ranchers competed with land barons who tried to use barbed wire to section off land and created a closed off empire for economic gain.

In this film, the story follows a veteran free range cattleman (Robert Duvall) and his crew (Costner, Abraham Benrubi, and Diego Luna) as the come into conflict with a crooked land baron (Michael Gambon) and corrupt law of a small but prospering town. It's all pretty simple stuff, and the broad plot is not very original, but it's all done pretty well, and it's a fairly solid piece of work.

It's not perfect, as it kinda takes some time ot get going, and a romantic subplot between Costner's Charley and Annette Bening's character is a little awkward and sloppily handled, but other than that, this is a pretty engaging and entertaining piece of work. It's got some great cinematography, a nice mixture of philosophizing and humor injected into the drama and action, and the film's centerpiece: a drawn out shoot out between the baron's men and the open rangers is a masterful setpiece in its own right. I just love how it was staged, shot, and edited. It's very suspenseful, and you can actually tell what the heck is going on, unlike too many contemporary action scenes.

All in all, this is a nice piece of work. It is flawed, but the direction, camerawork, and especially the performances (especially Duvall's) really make up for it. Give it a watch. If Costner never directs another film, then this is a fine way to wrap up that portion of his career.