9 March 2009
Appaloosa (2008)
Ed Harris’ western reminded me of some other recent revisionist Westerns, like 3:10 to Yuma and Unforgiven. But it’s bogged down by a pretty bizarre perforamnce from Renee Zellweger, and a muddled third act, largely propelled by Zellweger’s character.
That said, Viggo Mortensen gives a great performance as Ed Harris’ buddy, Everett. They have the typical long and storied relationship that pervades the dusty west between men. And there’s even a bit of gay subtext, I think, sprinkled across Mortensen’s character, particularly in the looks he gives his longtime partner when he runs off for some of Bridget Jones’ sweet pie. “Honey,” his eyes stoop.
The villain is Jeremy Irons, who can be a great actor but has lately been bizarrely terrible. Here, he’s villainous for the sake of it seems. The outward rancher who won’t abide by the rules because he’s just so gosh darn good at not abiding by the rules. His first scene is ominous, and he manages to keep a cork in it through the majority of his scenes, but where are Beverly and Elliot?