“Open Range” (Touchstone Pictures)
Kevin Costner knows how to direct a movie. Kevin Costner knows how to act in a movie. Kevin Costner just doesn’t know how to end a movie. That is why his latest acting/directing opus, “Open Range,” has at least three endings. Kevin just can’t seem to tear himself away from it and let it go. Sadly this tendency to go on and on and on makes the film a good movie rather than a great one.
In the film Costner plays a cowpoke named Charley. He is on a trail drive with his grizzled partner, a man named Boss (Robert Duvall). They are also accompanied by a hired hand/cook named Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Buttons (Diego Luna), a teenager they have “adopted” for the journey.
When they get near the town of Harmonville, Mose is sent in to get supplies. While there he is beaten by a gang under the direction of an Irishman named Baxter (Michael Gambon). He is against “freegrazers” and doesn’t want them near his land. This action by Baxter and some other hostile maneuvers eventually lead to a showdown between Boss’ bunch and Baxter’s men.
There is also a romance thrown in for good measure. It involves Charley and Sue (Annette Bening), the sister of the local doctor. The two are immediately attracted to each other but things are put on hold until the gunfight can take place.
The movie is slow paced and very specific with its dialogue and its action. Costner, the director, loves to give audiences endless shots of wide prairies and rolling hills. He also likes to have his actors deliver homespun stories and tales which show what type of men they are. With Duvall this sounds natural. With Costner it sounds stilted.
Of the trio of actors Costner comes off the weakest. Duvall and Bening create magic with their roles while Costner is not as charismatic. Gambon is not forceful enough in his portrayal of evil as Baxter, but Luna has some puppy-dog-amusing scenes as Buttons.
The movie is rated R for profanity and violence.
You can tell by watching the movie that Costner loves his story. He is enthralled by the nobility of the “western man” who is determined to do what is right. He is also a romantic who wants to hit just the right notes in telling the love story. But if Costner trusted his audience more and let imagination play a role in the enjoyment, he would let some questions be answered in the implications rather than in the spelling out.
“Open Range” is not the classic western it might have been thanks to Costner’s weaknesses as an actor/director. But it is a good western thanks to his strengths as an actor/director..
I scored “Open Range” a fenced in 6 out of 10.
