The Journeyman

Rating:
Summary: People remember evil longer
Review: An old man is shot by a band of outlaws in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. One of his grandsons is kidnapped and brutalized by his grandfather's murderers, the other hides and is later taken in by a passing priest. Roll title credits and roll forward "Thirteen Years Later...."
The kidnapped son becomes an outlaw himself, a spaghetti outlaw whose character is known as the Morphinist (Brad Hunt.) The younger brother, presumably raised by Catholic priests, is listed in the credits as the Journeyman (Daniel Lapaine.)
THE JOURNEYMAN is one of those low budget productions that surprises you with its good acting and smart look. This is to date director's James Crowley's only feature film. He's a professional "location manager"- in other words, he scouts out cool looking locations for films. THE JOURNEYMAN's dry and desolate setting, southern Texas along the Rio Grande River, look just right for this violent movie.
Its premise is intriguing, as well. After his leg is shattered when his horse is shot and falls on it(this is the same incident that causes the outlaw gang to desert him and further reinforces the revenge motive) the Morphinist's leg is amputated and he's given morphine to quench the pain. In short order he is an addict and a brutal, remorseless killer. He becomes especially jittery when too long from the needle.
Hunt is good as the wraithlike young killer. On the commentary track Crowley tells us that he lost fourteen pounds while filming the movie, and indeed by the end of the movie Hunt looks gaunt and played out. It's interesting to get an extended back-story on the Man With No Name. The genesis of evil is too often ignored, and although the Morphinist seemingly kills on a whim ("If he bothers you, shoot him" he tells one of his outlaw partners in an early scene) by the end of the movie he's a sympathetic character. Unfortunately the Journeyman, the younger brother who grows up in a seminary, isn't studied nearly as closely. In fact, I had a hard time figuring out who the young man joining Ledbetter's posse was until I watched the commentary track. There were other scenes that needed to be fleshed out, I believe, to give the audience a better handle on both son's back stories.
If you're a fan of westerns don't be put off by the low-budget origins or the relatively unknown cast - THE JOURNEYMAN is a very good western. My only complaint is in regards to the script, which I believe needed some doctoring, and the commentary track, which is hard to hear because they never lower the volume on the sound track when director and producer are talking. Sometimes their voices are drowned out by the sound of the movie.


Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant--period.
Review: Don't be fooled by the low budget...this film proves that a story can be well told even without the filter of millions of dollars. The characters of the two brothers in Journeyman are so alike, you might be unsure if it is just one actor playing two roles. A blend of reality, and morphine induced surrealism evoke--besides what you see on the screen--the image of one who is lost, in more ways than one, wandering through God's Country in search of some answer, be it through either redemption or damnation. Both brothers seem lost in their own right, yet while one seems to seek an almost 'Doc Holiday-ish' end by incurring as much violence as he can become swept up into, the other is apparently looking for his brother in hopes of actually saving him from an inexorable doom. Their parts are played to perfection by Brad Hunt and Daniel LaPaine, with Hunt being 'The Morphinist', and LaPaine as the 'The Journeyman'. LaPaine has been apparently raised and educated by a priest who finds him in hiding after the murder of his grandfather (Willie Nelson). After the priest rides away with the young boy, there is a lapse of 13 years, and the only clues one really gets as to his religious education are his silent observation (slow to speak, slower to act), a few moments of concentrated prayer, and his refusal to be goaded by a self-aggrandizing tough, even after he is struck by the braggart. Hunt, on the other hand, has been literally dragged and carried off by the very men who murdered their grandfather, and there are a few references to what happened to him in those 13 years, but these are only through his own drug hazed memory. In fact, his mind has become so imbibed with the morphine he is addicted to, that he kills a Mexican rancher who only somewhat resembles one of the men responsible for what can only be a ruined life. On the surface, it might be easy to regard this film with a host of other garden variety western chases. However, it is, in fact, a powerful indictment of the eventual and inevitable destruction of the vengeant mind. Hunt is a splendid picture of a man laying waste to everyone about him, clearly hoping for someone to put him out of his misery, and perfectly willing all the while to bring down any who cannot. Though some of the supporting characters seem almost comical in their disproportionate rendering, they too portray a wild eyed sense of a grasping to find and maintain that control of a life that seems to have no direction. This is not merely another period film with neat accuracy in 'horse tack', and pissed off guys blazing at each other with sixguns. No, this film will engage your sense of right and wrong--what's more, the root of a mans' pursuit of his own rights and wrongs, and at a deeper level than is found in most other films of any genre. This is still a "man's" movie, but even more, it is a thinking man's movie.

Rating:
Summary: Gritty And Well Made Western
Review: I disagree with Allan. I loved this film. True, it is confusing at times, but well worth seeing.

Character actors Corbin and Gilliam are great, but this clearly is Brad Hunt's film, from the start. He's a remarkable talent and deserves recognition for it. Not for one second do you doubt that he's an empty shell of a man who's given up on searching for real meaning in his life. It's an incredible performance, and I only hope that he's destined for stardom, in the future.

If you don't care for gritty, downbeat westerns, this one might not be your cup-of-tea (Unforgiven is a walk in the forest by comparison), but otherwise you need to see it for Brad Hunt's stunning performance.

Rating:
Summary: Confusion on the Border
Review: The "Journeyman" is the most confusing Western I have ever seen, and I've seen hundreds and hundreds. Filmed along the border in the Big Bend Country of Texas the story is a complete mishmash to the point of sometimes being unable to determine which character is which. Don't be misled by Willie Nelson's name in the cast: he's killed off in the first minute. The writing, direction, and acting (except for Barry Corbin) are all abysmal. You will be disappointed in the film.

Rating:
Summary: Confusion on the Border
Review: The "Journeyman" is the most confusing Western I have ever seen, and I've seen hundreds and hundreds. Filmed along the border in the Big Bend Country of Texas the story is a complete mishmash to the point of sometimes being unable to determine which character is which. Don't be misled by Willie Nelson's name in the cast: he's killed off in the first minute. The writing, direction, and acting (except for Barry Corbin) are all abysmal. You will be disappointed in the film.

Rating:
Summary: Journeyman, Smokin' Western
Review: The Journeyman is a western which is truly relevant to the hip hop generation. It is a tale of violence begetting violence generation upon generation. It is a tale of the erosion of a man's psyche because of drug addiction. It is a story of sin, but no redemption. It is a story of purposeless hatred and the love of two brothers undistilled by time and space.

Aside from the intriguing story, the sets and locations are really wonderful. The set dressing and props are perfect, down to the most minor piece of horsetack. After viewing this movie several times I noticed that the guns, fashions and machinery changed along with the century. I found this movie truly fascinating. It is a western on a par with The Searchers or The Unforgiven. This film is the most opulent and impressive low budget western ever made.

Rating:
Summary: Journeyman, Smokin' Western
Review: The Journeyman is a western which is truly relevant to the hip hop generation. It is a tale of violence begetting violence generation upon generation. It is a tale of the erosion of a man's psyche because of drug addiction. It is a story of sin, but no redemption. It is a story of purposeless hatred and the love of two brothers undistilled by time and space.

Aside from the intriguing story, the sets and locations are really wonderful. The set dressing and props are perfect, down to the most minor piece of horsetack. After viewing this movie several times I noticed that the guns, fashions and machinery changed along with the century. I found this movie truly fascinating. It is a western on a par with The Searchers or The Unforgiven. This film is the most opulent and impressive low budget western ever made.