Film Review

by Duncan Dieterly

Appaloosa (2008)
A gritty tale of the old west; about a pair of stalwart lawmen, who doggedly enforce the law as they see it in the 1890s. They drift from town to town, cleaning them up with a list of posted laws backed by lead, and then pass on. We have the leader, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) a cold hard gunman of unequaled skill who enjoys reading. His partner Evert Hitch (Vigge Mortensen) is an easygoing steady man with an eight-gauge shotgun who backs him up. Evert is a former Army West Point graduate who engages in witty conversations with Virgil. The two who have been together for a while become the marshals of the town of Appaloosa whose former city marshal was murdered. They have to contend with the life and times of growing town and its aggressive ranching entrepreneur, Randall Bragg, (Jeremy Irons) who murdered the marshal and had one of his two deputies killed. In addition, a sweet young thing in petticoats, known as Allie French (Renee Zellweger), steps off the stage and into their lives one day increasing the complexity of their little world. Virgil is smitten with Allie and takes up with her, even considering settling down. There are unexpected twists and turns resulting in several shootouts. A strong tight story of: comrades, love, western justice and stark western ethics. Director: Ed Harris Writers: Robert Knott Ed Harris Book: Robert B. Parker Studio: New Line Cinema Stars: Ed Harris Viggo Mortensen Renee Zellweger Jeremy Irons Rating: R Color Running Time: 115 minutes

Rating: 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Type: Western Adventure November 10, 2009