Open Range

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Western
Review: One of the best westerns that I have had the pleasure to see.One of my favorites is Shane and Open Range is in the same style and action and charecter development.********
All of the cast was just wonderful and realistic.Costner and Duval are just great.I also loved Bening.
Why did it take so long for a great western to make it to the big screen?

Rating:
Summary: KOSTNER, DUVALL AND BENING--WHAT A WINNING COMBINATION
Review: WHAT AN OUTSTANDING MOVIE THIS IS!!! THE CINEMATOGRAPHY, WRITING, AND ACTING WERE ALL MAGNIFICENT...AT THE END OF THE MOVIE, SOME CHILDREN IN FRONT OF US STARTED APPLAUDING AND THE PACKED MOVIE HOUSE JOINED IN!!!! I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FILM!!!!

Rating:
Summary: an excellent return to the classic western
Review: A Film By Kevin Costner

Open Range is easily the best western since Unforgiven, and no, it isn't the only western that has been made since Eastwood's masterpiece. Open Range is a return to the classic western and should hold up very well in comparison to classic westerns. It isn't quite as good as Unforgiven, but that was a genre defining (and almost ending) movie and very few movies are that good. Thus far in 2003, Open Range is one of the year's best movies, but it may not make the final top ten list at year's end.

Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and Charley Waite (Kevin Costner) at cattlemen. They are also free grazers. This means that they pass through the land, never staying anywhere and let their cattle graze anywhere they go, including on the property of other people. Once, this was a common and accepted practice, but by 1882 people have become more property conscious and legal free grazing was falling out of favor with landowners. As Boss and Charley are driving their cattle across the country, they have to send their hired man into town for supplies. This sets up all of the action that is to follow as Mose (Abraham Benrubi) has problems with some of the townsfolk and when there is a murder of one of Boss's workers, Boss and Charley would rather stay and take care of business than be run off. Boss has a line, "Cows is one thing, but one man telling another man where he can go in this country is something else." That line pretty much boils down the main conflict between the rancher Baxter (Michael Gambon) and Boss. The conflict is about the clash of the old ways with the new ways (free grazing vs private land, the old west vs new civilization) and both men are committed to their way of life. Baxter, who is also crooked, pushes Boss too far.

Charley has been working for Boss for 10 years after being a killer in the Civil War. So, he is the perfect man for a fight. For ten years Boss had given him the chance to live a better life, but he was never far away from the man who would kill with no second thoughts. The movie presents a sort of emotional cat and mouse game between Boss and Baxter. There are set up ambushes, reversals, good speeches to the townspeople on who to support and why, and to be honest this was an incredibly effective western where almost everything was working. The gun battle near the end of the movie (which is just about all of the action, so expect a slow paced western when you see this) was outstanding. One thing that Kevin Costner made a point to do was make sure that the gun shots were realistically loud. Remember, there were no silencers on shot guns and six shooters back then. If someone shoots, it is loud and it is frightening. The gun fight was realistic and one of the highlights of the movie. But even with the loud gun fights, the parts that make the movie are the quiet times where we see Boss and Charley interact with each other and with the land. Nothing is rushed in this movie.

The one thing that doesn't work in the movie is Charley's relationship with Sue Barlow (Annette Bening). It feels a little forced and out of place. Bening does what she can with the role, but there isn't much there and forcing the relationship feels out of place with the main thrust of the movie. I understand why it was done, to show a change in Charley and a potential softening of his character, but it doesn't work as well as it should. That was the only thing that I felt was lacking in the movie and I thought that Open Range was an excellent movie and should definitely be supported.

Rating:
Summary: Open Range
Review: Awesome cinematography. I can't say enough about the acting, especially Robert Duval's role as "Boss". One of the best pictures I've seen in years. Kevin Costner really did an outstanding job.
The critics really messed up with this one.

Rating:
Summary: As good a western as you'll see.
Review: With Costner and Duval playing foil to each other this is a great movie. Benning doesn't hurt the story either. Kind of slow at first, it slowly winds up to an explosive finish where good triumphs over evil. Good story line. Solid acting by the main characters leave a believable and totally enjoyable story.

This is one of Costners best movies maybe as good as Dancing with wolves and Field of Dreams.

Rating:
Summary: open range
Review: Beautiful cinematography. Wonderful acting and just loved the story. One of the best movies I've seen in years. The critics really messed up with this one!

Rating:
Summary: To a Level Where No One Has Gone Before
Review: First of all, no matter what you think of the Western film genre or of Kevin Costner or Annette Benning, go see this movie in the theater. Here is why. Robert Duvall takes acting to a level where no one has gone before -- pure cowboy so natural that you will forget you have seen Duvall in a hundred movies before. The scene where his character, Boss Spearman, tells Costners character his real given name is worth the price of the movie, and it's all Duvall. Second, the gunfight in this film is the best ever filmed. The gunfire sounds like it is coming from real guns. The choreography is totally realistic. Two enemies fire away at point blank range and miss! Finally, Costner and Benning. Costner always plays pretty much the same role (yawn) but this time it fits the part perfectly. He is actually very, very good. I almost quit thinking about it being Costner. And Benning, without too much makeup, with a modest demeanor and a realistic character that she fills completely. Well, I was shocked at how good she was. I disagree with the acclaim many have heaped on The Unforgiven; it is a hopeless movie. Open Range has depth of character also, but it is fundamentally hopeful. Our greatest Westerns must be hopeful because this country is a hopeful country. So ... not only five stars, but the best Western ever filmed. An Oscar for Duvall and an Oscar for Costner's direction. And at least consideration for Benning for supporting actress. This film is that good.

Rating:
Summary: Under the Stars
Review: In the realm of the Movies, Kevin Costner is the human repository of all of our collective American Dreams: of all that is Good or Just. He is Everyman. He is Jim Garrison in "JFK" railing against all the evil in the world in a Texas courtroom in one of the most heartfelt, emotionally effective tour-de-force performances in all of the movies. He is Our modern Gary Cooper. But like all heroes, he is fallible.
It is a bold move to make an old-fashioned Western in these times of Crack, Terrorist attacks, AIDS and SARS but Costner, ten years after "Dancing With Wolves" has done so nonetheless.
"Open Range" is big and bold and it's vistas are appropriately panoramic yet it is most effective when Costner, Robert Duvall and Annette Bening are on the screen performing their platonic ménage a trios: the men all big muddy feet, worn out boots, tied of tongue and Bening, scrubbed free of any makeup, plainly dressed looking radiant, human and womanly, as only she can.
There is a plot involving townspeople who want the free-ranging (cattle drivers who let their cattle graze at will) Charley (Costner) and Boss (Duvall) off the town's land and the last 45 minutes of the film is violent, vicious and bloody.
But mostly "Open Range" is best when Charley and Boss are on their horses riding the open ranges of America sensing that, being 1882 it's the end of an era, the end of a lifestyle that has brought them a kind of freedom and the end of the innocent world that they have come to love and expect.

Rating:
Summary: Another strong incarnation of the classic American western
Review: After releasing some mediocre or downright awful product over the past few years, Kevin Costner has returned to strong form with "Open Range". It is a wholly entertaining edition to the western film genre.

The first, most immediate strength of this film is in its overall cinematography. From the first frames of "Open Range", the screen is filled with beautifully composed, breathtaking, sweeping views of the American West. Even as the plot transpires, Mr. Costner drops these scenic viewpoints in, either singularly or as a looming backdrop. On the big screen, it is truly spectacular. There are perhaps a few times where Mr. Costner lingers on this visual beauty a bit too long, but in terms of the pacing of the movie, it is not at all distracting.

The acting is the next strong suit in this movie, led by the incomparable Robert Duvall, who still demonstrates why he remains - in my mind - as one of the greatest American actors to grace the screen. As with many of his classic roles, Mr. Duvall eases into the role of Boss Spearman so flawlessly that he elicits from the viewer a sense that Boss is a real-life person. Smartly, Mr. Costner lets Mr. Duvall take the lead throughout the bulk of the film, so the viewer can enjoy the grace, power, humor, caring, wisdom, and sternness of Boss.

Mr. Costner is also good in his role as Charlie, and perhaps it is due to his stepping aside and allowing Mr. Duvall plenty of room. However, the two together play well off one another, and make for an pairing that is, overall, surprisingly strong. Mr. Costner does pull out the sort of "aw shucks", embarrassed, nervous style of expression of love that is seen in so many of his movies. Sometimes it gets a little too old, but in this role, it works.

Annette Bening is also strong in her role, and it was wonderful to see her back in a film in which she had a solid role. The only drawback was that it seemed that the screenwriters almost tried too hard to find room for her. Michael Gambon's role was pretty much forgettable, if only because he was on-screen (surprisingly) little in the film.

The plot and overall story was very good. The theme of standing up for your rights, and sometimes having to do something against your morals to achieve it, was played well. The way the story unfolded to reach its climax - the outstanding gunbattle - was interesting, if perhaps a tad slow. But, the only real flaw was the love story between Mr. Costner's and Ms. Bening's character. In places, it seemed that it fit decently into the story, but nearer the end, it seemed as though they were trying to cram too much into a limited line of thought. As noted above, it might have been the result of trying to find more room for Ms. Bening, but ultimately it really didn't work. This was the one area that prevented me from rating the movie with a full "5 stars".

People planning to see this movie should be forewarned: the action is very limited in the lead-up to the climatic gunbattle near the end of the film. "Open Range" is mostly a drama, but with one of the better action sequences in modern westerns, and conveys much emotion and power with a (appreciatively) limited amount of gore. The gunbattle seems to play out in several stages, and with some unexpected twists. One of the notable points of this part of the film is the sound. Mr. Costner truly captured the accurate sounds of the various weaponry, the sharpness and fury of their discharge has - from an audio perspective - the effect of dropping the viewer right in the midst of the bullets. This effect adds to the pleasure of watching this film.

All in all, "Open Range" was a very good movie, and one of the better ones I have seen in 2003. Critics will knock it as being a bit slow, but I think that is due to a combination of not understanding what this movie was really trying to convey, as well as an unwillingness by critics to view this effort independently from Mr. Costner's previous works. Mr. Costner should receive much credit - for both his directing and acting - in "Open Range". I recommend it to all audiences, except for young children, and especially those who are fans of the western genre. You should not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Exceeded my Expectations
Review: I am not a Kevin Costner nor a Western movie fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Unlike Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, I did not find the violence in this movie to be gratuitous. The cinematic scope of the Canadian countryside was refreshing and added to the theme of a dying breed of men (the freegrazers) and the loss of a familiarity and comfort with a way of life facing a changing, modernizing world (the town of Harmonville) and the large cattle ranches and their owners. Many might find this movie old fashioned in its dialogue of doing what's right, keeping one's word, staying by the side of your friend, but these are themes that still resonant in today world's - maybe not as loud. The pace of the movie did not seem slow to me. There were moments of humor and of course, drama. Overall, a very enjoyable film that is a rare treat for today's movie going adult.