When Kevin Costner comes strolling down the red carpet with a new movie, we moviegoers never quite know what to think. Are we going to be getting "Field of Dreams" or "The Postman"? "Dances With Wolves" or "WaterWorld"? "Tin Cup" or (God forbid) "3000 Miles to Graceland"?
It is undeniable that since the early 1990s Costner's career has been on a manic-depressive roller coaster ride that would make Fiona Apple nervous. But, fortunately for movie fans everywhere, Costner's new film "Open Range" proves to be a good one.
"Open Range" smartly takes Costner back to the genre that has brought him the most acclaim, the western. His one previous shot at it was "Dances with Wolves," which won him Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. In "Open Range" he surrounds himself with a solid cast and a typical story, and then lets good actors do their jobs. The result is not the greatest movie ever, but a fine one nonetheless.
In "Open Range" Costner plays a cowboy riding the western landscape and free ranging cattle with his longtime boss, played by Robert Duval. During the course of grazing cattle, they run across people who want to privatize the grazing lands. A fight ensues and part of Costner and Duval's gang dies. This sets up the requisite shootout in the streets of the town to close the movie, the outcome of which I will not reveal to you here.
In the course of reaching this battle, Costner falls in love with Annette Benning's character, a woman in the town. This is the weakest part of the film. Benning is a great actress, but there is no reason for this coupling to occur, and the romance between the two seems too much of a stark contrast between the harsh fighting going on outside. Benning is not at fault here; I just hope that someday a western will have the courage to drop the "cowpoke falls in love" story line and focus on what the people came to see.
In contrast, Robert Duval is at the top of his game as the straight-arrow boss. Duval is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and his skills are on display here. He plays the boss with a quiet desperation. He is always taking the moral high ground, but when push comes to shove and violence becomes necessary, he doesn't know what to do. It is this inner conflict and his ability to portray it that makes Duval such a skilled actor.
Costner as an actor also is near the top of game here. He plays the cowboy as a gruff, quiet man. This goes against his stereotypical affable charmer role, but it works for him. He shows a lot of pain in his constant remembrances of fighting in the Civil War, and that gives his role more depth than I would have anticipated.
Costner as director, however, has some explaining to do. Clearly he is in love with the wide looming shots of the mid-western prairies, because, for the first 30 minutes of the movie, that is practically all he shows us. These beautiful landscapes are compelling in small doses, but Costner inundates us with them. The result is an opening half-hour of the film that is tedious and plodding. Once you make it through that first half-hour, however, things really pick up and Costner crafts a fine western.
One other problem with Costner's direction that limits the possibilities of this epic is his handling of the aforementioned romance between his and Benning's characters. Benning certainly has a solid reputation as an actress, so I can completely understand Costner's desire to get her as much screen time as he can, but to do so in such a bland, predictable way completely limits her effectiveness.
That the scenes between the two of them are well acted is the only thing that saves them from being a complete waste.
I understand what he was going for, but Costner should be brave enough as a director to simply cut her out of the picture and leave the story as is.
"Open Range" is the story of violent men driven to fight to protect their way of life. On this level, it is a great movie. If Costner had not desired to make a multi-plot filled epic, this could have been one of the best westerns ever made. But even so, the powerful acting of Robert Duval and Kevin Costner carry the day, and the gun battles are worth your time. So go see "Open Range," even if it didn't turn out to be all that it could have been.
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