Appaloosa

There isn’t much to say about this movie other than that it is, simply put, dull as dishwater. Very little happens. The build up to the little that does happen isn’t loaded with simmering tension or full of intimate and thoughtful character work. It neither deconstructs the archetypal western hero like a revisionist western nor does it embrace the simplistic storytelling of a classical western. It just noodles around for a while, then there is a relatively unsatisfying shoot out, and then it limps to the finish line.

Theoretically, the plot is about a newly appointed marshal, and his loyal deputy, who come to a town to create order out of lawlessness after a local cattle baron murders the previous marshal for trying to arrest a couple of his cowhands. Despite this, the film spends much more time exploring the relationship between this marshal and a new woman in town, one whose outward appearance portrays a higher degree of class than the typical showgirls and prostitutes that currently reside there. So the movie morphs into being about a man’s bizarre obsession with a woman that clouds his judgement on every level, and the marshal versus battle baron stuff becomes entirely ancillary.

The problem with that is that their relationship dynamic is boring and predictable, and the performances don’t do enough to elevate the material. I knew going in that a lot of people were down on Renee Zellweger’s contributions to this movie and immediately after finishing it I didn’t see why. Her performance was nothing special, but neither was the rest of the movie, so who cares? After some reflection, though, I switched my position. So much of the Appaloosa hinges on their relationship, so when Zellweger gives such a flat, uncomplicated performance it is a big contribution to what makes everything feel so flat. With a different performance, maybe given by a different actress, each of her moves, her tricks, her calculated gambles driven by an unspoken trauma and need to feel safe and secure, would build her into a rich and interesting character. When it is ultimately revealed how little she is doing for love and how much she is doing out of this kind of fear-driven self-interest, that could have been powerful stuff. And as stoic as Ed Harris’ marshal is in the film, the emotional weight of his willingness to eventually sort of ignore it all, for better or worse, would hit harder too.

Instead, a character that could have been interesting is robbed of the kind of subtextual performance that would hint at a richer inner life. Since the movie shows little interest in action heavy gun fights a la The Wild Bunch, nor the flair for the dramatic confrontation, a la most Sergio Leone westerns, what we’re left with is a slow, dull character drama about a one dimensional girl, a complex man reduced to a doting puppy, and his loyal companion caught in the middle, where the western action seemingly only serves to advance that character drama into new, equally uninteresting places.

Would Recommend: If you’ve seen the True Grit or 3:10 to Yuma remakes and wondered why Hollywood hasn’t made more westerns recently.

Would Not Recommend:: If you think of westerns as an extension of the action genre.