Review of The Searchers (1956) by Brandon R — 08 Jun 2009

I have to admit that when I first walked out of the theater, I was pretty disappointed by The Searchers. The further I get from it, though, and the more I think on it, the more inclined I am towards it.

Nothing has done as much to change my opinion as reading Ebert's insightful Great Movies entry for it, but I have to also credit my friend Ryan, who got me to look at The Searchers not as some profound meditation on racism inherent in so much of the Western genre, but as a studio Western that managed to smuggle in some thoughtful ideas.

It helps, too, that Ebert is willing to acknowledge that the film has some deep flaws, most notably in the recurring use of broad comic relief that a) isn't all that funny and b) destroys your immersion in the ongoing story with Wayne.

Add to that some weird pacing and too many plot threads that go nowhere (most notably the trading post operator), and I can say that I'll probably never find The Searchers to be the masterpiece that a lot of people do.

Yet I respect the way that so much of the story is done through subtext, the way that Wayne brings a very complex role to a simplistic story, and the willingness to take on issues that so many Westerns stayed away from.

No, I can't buy into it as a masterpiece - I found it too flawed for that - but I can admire its intentions and respect the massive amount of influence it wields over so many brilliant filmmakers.