“Appaloosa”
2008
**** out of ****
Director: Ed Harris
Cast: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons
I never understood why there were never more Westerns being made. This was a genre that back in the 40s and 50s that Hollywood could never get enough of, and come 90s and this decade, we have only saw about ten of (if that). Last year, we saw two great Westerns, one being a remake of a Delmer Daves film that was adapted from an Elmore Leonard tale, and the other one being a true story based on the last few days of Jesse James. Though I don’t really agree that the second one was a Western (just a film that took place in the Western times), the first one was as Western as a film could possibly get, and it was the first film of the year to kick off something that I like to call Oscar Season.
Oscar Season, of course, is titled after the award show that usually takes place in February. Watching the Oscars has been a tradition for me since 2004, but it wasn’t only watching the Oscars that I’ve always enjoyed – it was watching the films that were nominated for them all. Before the Oscars took place last year, I saw almost ALL of the films that were nominated (excluding the Foreign and short films), and this year I’m doing my hardest to keep up with all of the films that have a great chance to be nominated.
Like last year’s “3:10 to Yuma,” which was (surprisingly) only nominated for two Oscars, despite having fabulous reviews and a great rating on IMDb, “Appaloosa” is the official kickoff to Oscar Season. Aside from “The Dark Knight” and “Wall-E,” I don’t see any other films that are released in theaters (or have been released) right now getting much attention for the award hub. And believe me – “Appaloosa” is the film that deserves all of the hype that it could possibly garner. I don’t think that it will reinvent the Western genre, but I think that it will be the Western that everyone will remember that was released in the past ten years.
Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) has become the new sheriff in the town Appaloosa, and he has hired his best friend Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) as his deputy. Their first job is to arrest outlaw Randall Bragg, (Jeremy Irons) the man who killed the last sheriff, and persecute him to the fullest, but that will prove to be a challenge. His goons are out to do anything to get Bragg back, and they have a plan to kidnap a beautiful yet cunning widow named Allison French that Virgil has fell in love with. (Renee Zellwegger)
The one thing that I have been noticing is that the Westerns from last year and “Appaloosa” is that they have been relying on personal feelings instead of showing the true machoness that films in that genre did back in the 40s and 50s. In “3:10 to Yuma,” an average Joe is just trying to prove to his son that his father is a man, and by escorting Russell Crowe’s character, he can change the minds of his family and everyone around him. It was more complicated in “The Assassination of Jesse James,” whereas Robert Ford, played by Casey Affleck, wants to gain the fame that his hero Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt, has received.
Sheriff Cole wants nothing in the world but love. He admits several times throughout the movie that he has slept with whores, but never has had a great relationship with any of them. Once the widow walks into his life, everything is turned upside down for him. He looks at her as being the perfect woman for him, but the secret that she hides is that she is really one of the women that he has slept with in the past. She is just a whore that wants to fuck anything that moves. This isn’t me trying to be funny – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hornier female character this side of “Superbad.”
Everett Hitch, on the other hand, doesn’t know what he wants. He has been friends with Virgil for a long time now, so much that they can trust each other with anything. They even finish each other’s sentences. The problem here is that Virgil is so head-over-heels with Allison that he can’t even see the true Allison. At the same time, he cannot tell his friend that this is the person that Virgil has fallen in love with. He could never do anything to hurt his friend, but yet he feels like that there is something else that could hurt him more – when he finds out the true lady inside of her.
And this is only the beginning. This character drama relies on the dialogue between the characters. There are a few shoot-outs here and there, but there is never enough so that “Appaloosa” can be called an action film. A lot of the dialogue in the film is the characters talking about life and love. There is so much going on in this film that it would take film majors months just to dissect piece by piece.
This is where I tell you about the acting, but how could you talk about the flawless acting coming from everyone? There is nothing to criticize. Ed Harris is perfect, setting up the perfect tone for the rest of the movie. Viggo Mortensen plays a big part that hopefully doesn’t get overshadowed this year at the Academy Awards. Last year, he happened to be nominated against Daniel Day-Lewis, and since he had no chance in hell of winning, he was the best part of “Eastern Promises.” Jeremy Irons does a great job in the role of the villain, and Renee Zellwegger doesn’t suck. Shucks, who knew?!
There is one character that I haven’t brought up. The setting of the film acts like its own character. From the interior scenes of the hotel rooms and saloons to the exterior scenes in the mountains and in the village, scenery is always playing a part of the movie. I’m sure that if this movie doesn’t get nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or any acting nominations, it should at least be nominated for the beautiful sets and costumes.
Truth is that come these next few weeks, all of “Appaloosa” will be forgotten. This week, Leonardo DiCaprio headlines in a new Ridley Scott film. In two weeks, Josh Brolin will be portraying George Bush. And perhaps Sean Penn can take something home from “Milk.” But if there is one thing that I won’t forget, it is that “Appaloosa” should be nominated for every single award in the Oscars, including Best Foreign Film (where no other language is spoken but English) and Best Short Film (when the film is almost two-hours long). “Appaloosa” is THAT good.
Cast: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons
I never understood why there were never more Westerns being made. This was a genre that back in the 40s and 50s that Hollywood could never get enough of, and come 90s and this decade, we have only saw about ten of (if that). Last year, we saw two great Westerns, one being a remake of a Delmer Daves film that was adapted from an Elmore Leonard tale, and the other one being a true story based on the last few days of Jesse James. Though I don’t really agree that the second one was a Western (just a film that took place in the Western times), the first one was as Western as a film could possibly get, and it was the first film of the year to kick off something that I like to call Oscar Season.
Oscar Season, of course, is titled after the award show that usually takes place in February. Watching the Oscars has been a tradition for me since 2004, but it wasn’t only watching the Oscars that I’ve always enjoyed – it was watching the films that were nominated for them all. Before the Oscars took place last year, I saw almost ALL of the films that were nominated (excluding the Foreign and short films), and this year I’m doing my hardest to keep up with all of the films that have a great chance to be nominated.
Like last year’s “3:10 to Yuma,” which was (surprisingly) only nominated for two Oscars, despite having fabulous reviews and a great rating on IMDb, “Appaloosa” is the official kickoff to Oscar Season. Aside from “The Dark Knight” and “Wall-E,” I don’t see any other films that are released in theaters (or have been released) right now getting much attention for the award hub. And believe me – “Appaloosa” is the film that deserves all of the hype that it could possibly garner. I don’t think that it will reinvent the Western genre, but I think that it will be the Western that everyone will remember that was released in the past ten years.
Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) has become the new sheriff in the town Appaloosa, and he has hired his best friend Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) as his deputy. Their first job is to arrest outlaw Randall Bragg, (Jeremy Irons) the man who killed the last sheriff, and persecute him to the fullest, but that will prove to be a challenge. His goons are out to do anything to get Bragg back, and they have a plan to kidnap a beautiful yet cunning widow named Allison French that Virgil has fell in love with. (Renee Zellwegger)
The one thing that I have been noticing is that the Westerns from last year and “Appaloosa” is that they have been relying on personal feelings instead of showing the true machoness that films in that genre did back in the 40s and 50s. In “3:10 to Yuma,” an average Joe is just trying to prove to his son that his father is a man, and by escorting Russell Crowe’s character, he can change the minds of his family and everyone around him. It was more complicated in “The Assassination of Jesse James,” whereas Robert Ford, played by Casey Affleck, wants to gain the fame that his hero Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt, has received.
Sheriff Cole wants nothing in the world but love. He admits several times throughout the movie that he has slept with whores, but never has had a great relationship with any of them. Once the widow walks into his life, everything is turned upside down for him. He looks at her as being the perfect woman for him, but the secret that she hides is that she is really one of the women that he has slept with in the past. She is just a whore that wants to fuck anything that moves. This isn’t me trying to be funny – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hornier female character this side of “Superbad.”
Everett Hitch, on the other hand, doesn’t know what he wants. He has been friends with Virgil for a long time now, so much that they can trust each other with anything. They even finish each other’s sentences. The problem here is that Virgil is so head-over-heels with Allison that he can’t even see the true Allison. At the same time, he cannot tell his friend that this is the person that Virgil has fallen in love with. He could never do anything to hurt his friend, but yet he feels like that there is something else that could hurt him more – when he finds out the true lady inside of her.
And this is only the beginning. This character drama relies on the dialogue between the characters. There are a few shoot-outs here and there, but there is never enough so that “Appaloosa” can be called an action film. A lot of the dialogue in the film is the characters talking about life and love. There is so much going on in this film that it would take film majors months just to dissect piece by piece.
This is where I tell you about the acting, but how could you talk about the flawless acting coming from everyone? There is nothing to criticize. Ed Harris is perfect, setting up the perfect tone for the rest of the movie. Viggo Mortensen plays a big part that hopefully doesn’t get overshadowed this year at the Academy Awards. Last year, he happened to be nominated against Daniel Day-Lewis, and since he had no chance in hell of winning, he was the best part of “Eastern Promises.” Jeremy Irons does a great job in the role of the villain, and Renee Zellwegger doesn’t suck. Shucks, who knew?!
There is one character that I haven’t brought up. The setting of the film acts like its own character. From the interior scenes of the hotel rooms and saloons to the exterior scenes in the mountains and in the village, scenery is always playing a part of the movie. I’m sure that if this movie doesn’t get nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or any acting nominations, it should at least be nominated for the beautiful sets and costumes.
Truth is that come these next few weeks, all of “Appaloosa” will be forgotten. This week, Leonardo DiCaprio headlines in a new Ridley Scott film. In two weeks, Josh Brolin will be portraying George Bush. And perhaps Sean Penn can take something home from “Milk.” But if there is one thing that I won’t forget, it is that “Appaloosa” should be nominated for every single award in the Oscars, including Best Foreign Film (where no other language is spoken but English) and Best Short Film (when the film is almost two-hours long). “Appaloosa” is THAT good.
I will say this, it is more in line with the remake of 3:10 To Yuma and that is what I like about it.
It is way different than Jesse James with Bard Pitt. That was perfect and on a different wavelength than Appaloosa.
Viggo Mortenson rocks in this film as always.