Open Range

Starring: Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening
Directed by: Kevin Costner
Rating: R
Genre: Western
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A group of free-grazing cowboys (including Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall) fall victim to a group of landowners who want them away from the town and their land. The cowboys decide not to run, but to return to the town and face their enemies, even if it means being killed.

Review:

Tim: I have always liked Kevin Costner (come on... Field of Dreams?), even if people criticized his filmmaking choices. With Open Range, he returns to the Western, a genre with he proved himself in with the Academy Award winning Dances With Wolves. He directs this film brilliantly. The film itself is beautiful to behold- there are sweeping landscapes, of which Costner captures with a bright, clear picture.

Duvall and Costner are excellent together. Costner gives a surprisingly good performance, reminiscent of his old days. Duvall, no stranger to Westerns himself, is terrific as well. Duvall and Costner really make this less of a revenge film, and more of a friendship one. Their friendship shows up on the screen, and that can be attributed to the great performances by both actors.

In many ways, Open Range is similar to many Westerns. You have the ordinary men taking justice into their hands when the fragile law system fails. This storyline occurs in numerous films, but somehow here, it seems new and original. The story itself flows nicely throughout the movie.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the film is the climactic battle scene. Costner does a terrific job here, making it exciting and powerful. The scene really makes you feel like you're in an actual gunfight. The bullets fly quick and crisply, and the camera darts around, capturing all the entertaining action.

Open Range is a very good movie, and I do recommend it. My one complaint is that it could have been a little shorter, but I understand Costner's nagging desire to create epics. This film definitely has some epic qualities. And, if nothing else, Costner can go wrong with futuristic film (Waterworld and The Postman, but he definitely knows how to make a good Western.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Dances With Wolves, Field of Dreams, Waterworld, The Postman, Secondhand Lions, Lonesome Dove