Review of Open Range (2003) by Jani H — 07 Aug 2011

"Well, if I'm gonna get killed, I got a hankerin' to soothe my sweet tooth.".

The western genre isn't doing that well anymore. After Kevin Costner's 'Dances With the Wolves' and Clint Eastwood's 'Unforgiven', it's been kinda slow for the cowboys. It took over a decade before a considerable western was made. It wasnt' a big surprise that Costner did it. He really seems to have the ability to capture the magic of the era.

'Open Range' tells the story of two free-range cattlemen, who get in to trouble with a local land baron. He hates the way of these free-rangers who "steal and destroy" his lands (these kinda conflicts weren't that unusual in the late 19th century and several westerns were made in the golden era of westerns in the 40's and 50's). Things result in terrible ways, which leads to Boss Spearman (Duvall) and Charley Waite (Costner) prepare to defend themselves and to get some justice.

'Open Range' is a typical western, from the storyline point of view. Costner has yet managed to increase the suspense towards the end finale and capture the "old spirit" of westerns. The story develops in a calm way but doesn't fail to be draging or boring. Costner has given plenty of time for character development, revealing glimpses of the two main characters past.

There are a few complaints regarding the movie. 'Open Range' could've been edited some minutes shorter by not adding a useless sub plot regarding Costner's and Annette Bening's characters relationship. There are some scenes, not gonna mention when and where for spoilers, that have some very queasy and implausible dialogue. It just didn't work that well.

The cinematography of 'Open Range' is beautiful with longlasting shots of the beautiful landscape. Jim Muro has also managed to capture the tension of the shootout. The shootout is by the way one of the best I've seen. I've mentioned lately in my reviews the word realistic. This does look realistic and Muro has had some terrific eye for capturing it all on the big screen. Nicely choreographed by the way.

'Open Range' is one of the better westerns I've seen, eventhough it doesn't deliver anything new to the genre. Nice chemistry between the two main characters, good dialogue between them and all together good acting by the actors. Considerable westerns haven't been made that many lately (3:10 to Yuma), so 'Open Range' is a welcomed addition to a genre that needs some glimpse of hope.