07-06-03 Ride the High Country

Seen: May 28th, 2007
Format: Broadcast (HDMV-HDNet Movies)
Rating: 7

I have no idea why I picked this one out. I hadn't seen a lot of Peckinpah, the story looked OK, the rating was high... whatever the reason, I'm glad I did.

This is an unconventional western. The lines between good guys and bad guys aren't as clearly drawn as they usually are. There's shades of grey here, and in large measure. Are the bankers good guys? The miners? What about Judd, really?

The whole film seems to be about finding out these people really are, under their various facades. As they come on screen, it's easy to sort them into their typical western roles. It's simple to thing that we know them and what role they'll play.

The reason the film works is that all those roles turn around and show us their other side during the course of the film. The film may not end much differently than we might expect, but the trip is one we may probably didn't expect.

The main characters being aging gunfighters is a great take. It reminds me a bit of The Shootist and Rooster Cogburn. An old gunfighter seems an oxymoron, and exploring what happens to these men as they leave their prime is fertile territory. The ones on the side of good probably still have to work, and work hard to get by. This de-glamorization of the trade strikes an interesting note, especially when juxtaposed against a young up and comer.

The acting is generally very good here.McCrea in particular is very convincing. Scott does an excellent job as well, though his transition from carny to hired gun seems a bit abrupt and disjointed. Mariette Hartley in an early role is quite good.

All the rest of it is passable western fare. There are none of Huston's vistas here, but the film really doesn't call for it, as the story is a small one, confined to a small area and small group of people.

Overall it's a good western with an underlying twist. There's something a bit deeper, a little more ambiguous. And it doesn't all quite work out.

The Good: A re-visioning of the classic Western and its stereotypes

The Bad: Betraying your friends

The Ugly: Romantic Idealism