Review of Red River (2009) by Everett J — 04 Jun 2008

Red River.

Directed by Howard Hawkes.

written by Charles Schnee and Borden Chase.

based on a ?Saturday Evening Post? article by Borden Chase.

starring John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, John Ireland.

In this classic Western directed by Howard Hawkes, ambition and greed propel a group of cattle ranchers along what would later be known as the Chisholm trail. Great difficulties and interpersonal struggles effect the progress on the cattle drive as they attempt to move from Texas to Missouri.

The terrain of the Civil War era United States is prominently featured in the film and provides it with a consistent energy that it maintains throughout. John Wayne presents his usual totemic presence on screen and gives one of his trademark, gruff, slightly uncouth performances. His character, Thomas Dunson, in this film is particularly unseemly for much of the film. He?s the type of screen hero who shoots first and never bothers to ask questions. Indeed, this is a film filled with senseless violence that nevertheless fits in nicely with the overall mood. The music is particularly effective as it conveys the openness of the landscape and creates a sense of real and lasting possibilities. The music also articulates the painful struggle these men undertake in order to satisfy their wants.

The story involves Dunson and his sidekick in this film, the cantankerous Groot Nadie (Brennan), who break away from a progress and decide to go off in their own direction. With nothing but two cattle they search for land and find it in Texas. Along the way they encounter a young boy named Matt Garth (Mickey Kuhn) who has survived an Indian attack. Dunson takes the kid under his wing and the film fast forwards thirteen years later and the boy is now a man played by Montgomery Clift. The ranch seems to be flourishing but they can?t make any money because the prices are so low. So, Dunson decides to push his herd to Missouri where he is convinced there will be better prices. The crew gather up the herd and push on to a new land with new and exciting possibilities. .

The film captures the adventurous nature of the cattle drive as well as the spirit of the gnawing difficulties that are found along the way. Still, the story?s primary focus is on the personalities of Matt and Dunson. These two early on have a peculiar energy about them that one expects to be short circuited at any moment. Indeed, the great explosion happens as the upstart Matt takes over the heard and decides to take it to Abeline, Kansas where they?ve only heard rumors of a railroad. This is a story that deals with the complications that naturally exist between father and son. Matt is not Dunson?s biological son but he is essentially raised by Dunson and instructed in all the ways of being a man in that often difficult climate. By the time he wrests the herd away from Dunson, Matt has effectively come into his own and has decided to pursue a course that directly contradicts his mentor?s plans.

John Wayne is a monumental force in this film and projects a tremendous presence in every frame he?s featured. Yet, within the construct of his raw physicality, it?s nearly impossible to read his character?s mind. Dunson remains a crude mystery, a phantom that remains distant and as difficult to fathom as the vast countryside in which he plots out his designs. Still, Dunson plays out his arc with a quiet intensity that haunts the film whenever he?s not on screen. Wayne manages to work within strict limits to relate a genuine character with many flaws who represents a certain type of searing masculinity that is necessarily threatened by the novelty of strange lands.

Montgomery Clift in his second film plays Matt with a nervousness that only abates slightly as he takes over the drive. Through gestures and posture, Clift gives his character a real sense of unease as circumstances unfold around him. Matt never quite seems comfortable in his role and comes off as slightly wounded. Still, once he?s taken over the drive, Matt seems to emerge with much more assuredness and sense of purpose. The slight shift in Clift?s physicality here provides him with more of a stranglehold on the necessary aspects of the drive toward Kansas. In many ways Clift comes across as perhaps a bit too sensitive in certain scenes. He?s believable as this character and possesses a strong masculine presence of his own, but there?s a tenderness her that slightly undermines the harsh, brutal edicts one associates with films of this type. There?s something completely different to what is expected here and the result is a character of great complication and depth. Walter Brennan is typical of the somewhat teetering older man who brings a bit of comic relief to the harrowing struggle being played out.

Joanne Dru has a haunted look that is ultimately mesmerizing as her character struggles to maintain her integrity between the scalding urgencies of two men who fall for her in their own way. Dru provides Tess Millay with a fiery spark that helps diffuse the raw, brutal masculinity as it clutches and paws in a rage that takes on a singular form: attack and defense, ridding the world of all the elements that it perceives to be contrary to it. Tess Millay is a moderating force that proves just as powerful as the men in the film who live by the edicts of the gun. She's the essence of the capable woman in Western films who uses both her sexuality and intelligence to get things done.

Overall, this is a stunning western that creates a lasting impression of openness and possibility. The pursuance of wealth is a necessary component in the natural desire to achieve great things whatever the risk. In this film, the performances derive their potency from different sources. Clift is truly haunted and it all comes through in his eyes. There is true mystery within his eyes and he conveys a darkness that is accentuated with his slightly slumping posture and slight discomfort in his physicality. It?s a trademark of Clift?s and something that won him a reputation as a brooding, intense performer able to reach depths of feeling rarely approached by other, more fearful actors. John Wayne here is playing a role he?d become most comfortable with during his career proceeding this film. Both Clift and Wayne play off each other with a type of precision that enables each actor to use his unique gifts to flesh out their characters and imbue them with the sensibilities that bring them effectively to life.