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Comes a HorsemanRating:
Release Date: 04 September, 2001 Retail Price: $14.95 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.96! Cast: Complete Cast (6 total) |
Comes a Horseman Reviews
Comes a Horseman
COMES A HORSEMAN is a romance wrapped in a western. The local cattle baron (Jason Robards) wants to drive out rancher Jane Fonda, who has hired on local wrangler James Caan to help her make it through one more hard year. Complicating things in this World War II era tale is the oil company that wants everybody's land.
With some truly beautiful wide angle photography, a plethora of establishing shots and a dearth of tight close ups, COMES A HORSEMAN is an more an actor's than an editor's movie that works as well as it does because it has an excellent cast at the top of their game. Director Alan Pakula often pulls the camera back and allows his actors room to discover their character and the meaning of the scene.
I only had two problems with this movie. I felt the ending, the final confrontation between bad guy Robards and good gal Fonda, was a bit contrived . The other problem was a puzzler - weren't their any doctors in cattle country America in 1945? A couple of characters get busted up pretty badly in the course of things and they're dumped into a bed with a damp handkerchief on the forehead with nary a doctor in sight. It didn't bother me much when Caan was laid up without professional medical care, but I hated to see poor Dodger (Richard Farnsworth) treated in such a manner.
Compromises some Performances
An okay movie that could have been a great one. Certainly, the cast is not to be faulted. "Julia" co-stars and co-Oscar nominees Jane Fonda and Jason Robards again ignite sparks as cattle ranchers battling nature, economic changes, and - most notably - each other in the closing years of World War II; James Caan offers one of his most sensitively understated performances as the newcomer who becomes embroiled in their conflict. And the supporting cast is beyond reproach. There's fine work from stage and screen veteran George Grizzard, Jim Davis (Jock Ewing on TV's "Dallas), and Mark Harmon; and a particularly touching performance by the marvelous Richard Farnsworth as Fonda's aging sidekick and former mentor. Other big plusses are some gorgeous locations and stunning set decorations, all beautifully photographed by cinematographer Gordon Willis.
Now ... if only the film editor had been more alert! Because Willis' breathtaking camerawork eventually turns out to be a near-fatal liability in the wrong hands. There are many instances in which the film needs to cut to a series of close-ups or at least a medium shot of the actors so that the audience can stay connected to the human drama; however, the editor remains resolutely focused on the grandeur of the scenery, leaving the viewer emotionally distant and uninvolved. This problem is compounded by the inappropriateness of Michael Small's musical score. Too often the music seems to be desperately competing for the viewer's attention, always at the expense of the actors and the screenplay. Halfway into the two-hour running time, the unrelentingly majestic visual and aural backgounds were becoming annoying irritations; before the closing credits they had developed into full-fledged nuisances.
On balance, I have to admit that the film is worth a look ... especially in the widescreen format offered on the DVD release. The disc includes the Original Theatrical Trailer (which, by the way, does offer some great editing!), and a very high quality film-to-video transfer with clear, crisp sound. If only the film could be recut and rescored, then reissued as a "Director's Special Edition". Unquestionably, there's a pony buried somewhere underneath this mess! **-1/2 stars
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