Review of The Searchers (1956) by Kara L — 05 Jun 2011

This is an interesting one. It focuses on a changing west, where time is moving forward and the old hatred and prejudices of the past are starting to fade away. At the same time, in doing so, the film also acts as a critical juncture in the Western genre. In this way it becomes more interesting as a study of american and film history than it necessarily is as entertainment.

Wayne plays an aging confederate army vet, driven by hatred and racism, who sets out to rescue his niece. Along the way viewers are supposed to be turned off by his blind enmity and vileness, and come to see the native americans as real people just as good or bad as any white man. Yet the same Indians the film suggests be accepted as real people are still presented as war-paint-and-battle-cry caricatures. It asks you to reassess what film has said about the time and history, but then still insults them in the same manner its trying to turn away from. It's these contradictions that make the movie so interesting. It's a genre struggling thru the same transitions as the age and people its trying to explain.

As a 50s western it suffers from its fair share of cheese and bad acting, of course. Some of its truly ridiculous. But John Ford is a legendary director for a reason. There are many timeless moments to be found here, most of them subtle and quiet. He knew Wayne well at this point, and really gets the most out of him. There are several scenes that I would argue contain the best acting of the Duke's career, and that they're so dark is a particular joy to my breed of taste.

It's not until the very end of the film that Wayne's character grants any concession toward compassion, and even then it's only a half measure. But it perfectly sets up the final shot (one of the greatest in cinema history) in which the other characters enter a house and move forward into a new optimistic future but Wayne hesitates for a moment at the threshold, decides better of it, and turns and walks back into the wilds of the plains. It's one of several brilliant moments in a conflicted film that I firmly believe is one of the more important works in movie making history.