Rating: 
Summary: What were they smoking when they made this film?!
Review: This film is incredibly dull! One reviewer wrote about interesting characters and so on, but The Claim never lets you even care about the characters. Not much is going on in this movie either, and what little activity there is, it is extremely slow paced and incomprehensible. This motion picture is an example of what happens when a director takes himself or herself too seriously and loses the vision of what movies are for. Movies are here to "entertain" us, and some film makers forget that. I think the editor was drunk too.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing, boring mess that never goes anywhere
Review: This is a bloated pompous mess of a movie that looks really good and wants to be good, but cannot be. The editing is mostly to blame. It jumps around from time period to time period without much warning and then there are the events in the movie that make little sense. For example, why does a fully furnished house moved into place by men and horses, not have broken dishes, crockery, paintings on the floor, etc.? Instead everything is perfect when the actors step inside. And why is a train circa 1930's running around in 1900 California? And how on God's green Earth could someone be buried six feet under when there is a good two feet of snow on the ground (anyone who lives in a snowbound area knows this is impossible)? Wes Bentley isn't so much acting as just saying lines. The one thing this movie had in its favor is that none of the actors had straight teeth - and that would be fitting for the era...
Rating: 
Summary: AN EPIC MASTERPIECE
Review: This is one of those movies that "they don't make anymore." It's not a movie for people who thrive on SFX, or acrobatics, or one-dimensional characters, or stories that are as meaningful as a message in a fortune cookie. This one is about people struggling to survive in a winter wilderness during the railroad boom of the 1860s with all the corruption, decadence, and pioneering spirit of a time, much like our own, in which capitalism and "progress" were the driving forces of society. Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, et al, are superb. There isn't a false note in the acting. The landscapes are breathtaking. This is director Michael Winterbottom's finest hour yet, and he's had a few (Jude, Welcome to Sarajevo). If you enjoy a movie with great production design, breathtaking cinematography, an involving human drama (albeit slowly paced), beautiful music, and all the elements of a meticulously produced, high class film, I'd consider getting this one on DVD. The transfer is excellent. It's unfortunate that the disc doesn't offer much in the area of "extras," with the exception of a trailer, but it doesn't really matter because the movie itself is so visually impressive, and so unpretentious at the same time, that there's plenty of eye candy and food for thought to keep any intellectual viewer satisfied. I highly recommend this overlooked gem. Give it a chance and you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: AN EPIC MASTERPIECE
Review: This is one of those movies that "they don't make anymore." It's not a movie for people who thrive on SFX, or acrobatics, or one-dimensional characters, or stories that are as meaningful as a message in a fortune cookie. This one is about people struggling to survive in a winter wilderness during the railroad boom of the 1860s with all the corruption, decadence, and pioneering spirit of a time, much like our own, in which capitalism and "progress" were the driving forces of society. Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, et al, are superb. There isn't a false note in the acting. The landscapes are breathtaking. This is director Michael Winterbottom's finest hour yet, and he's had a few (Jude, Welcome to Sarajevo). If you enjoy a movie with great production design, breathtaking cinematography, an involving human drama (albeit slowly paced), beautiful music, and all the elements of a meticulously produced, high class film, I'd consider getting this one on DVD. The transfer is excellent. It's unfortunate that the disc doesn't offer much in the area of "extras," with the exception of a trailer, but it doesn't really matter because the movie itself is so visually impressive, and so unpretentious at the same time, that there's plenty of eye candy and food for thought to keep any intellectual viewer satisfied. I highly recommend this overlooked gem. Give it a chance and you won't be sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Drama so thick you need a chainsaw
Review: Two things attracted me to this movie: all the positive criticism it recieved, and the lack of a top-notch, well known actor. That meant that the cast would be more of an ensemble, all working toward the goal of presenting the movie the best it could - and that's exactly what we get with "The Claim".A Central Pacific Railroad survey team led by chief engineer Dalglish (Wes Bentley) comes into the tiny 49er town of Kingdom Come to scout the area for the railroad. There they are greeted by Dillon (Peter Mullan), casino owner and the main man in the town, and a brothel topped by Lucia (Milla Jovovich), who is also Dillon's lover. Two strangers, a mother and a daughter (Kinski and Polley) also come in with the survey team, and the mother holds a secret which could destroy Dillon in the process. "The Claim" turns out to be something like Shakespeare. The rise of an empire (Kingdom Come) but the descent of a man (Dillon) after he finds out his wife and daughter, who he sold for the gold mine have returned. Dalglish is the new blood in the town, and played by the young Bentley, stays always level-headed as the beautiful Jovovich and Polley both try to sway him. The photography and set is perfectly captured - the Sierra Nevada mountains during winter. The grand scope is captured here in "The Claim" by director Michael Winterbottom. The reality of the time is there also, as most of the residents of Kingdom Come are dirty, greased, and look like they need a bath. But, that's reality (for back then) and it's taken to account. The best performance is of Mullan, who plays a man always remembering of what he sacrificed to become rich, and is now haunted that what he sold has returned to call on him. The main drawback of this movie is that it's too slow. For an hour, you sit there and watch exposition after exposition of each character. After that, it's really just nothing. The drama doesn't show up well after the hour-fifteen minute mark, and by that time you're lucky if you're not comatose. But, after that mark, "The Claim" picks up and really proves itself as one of the top ten films of 2000.
Rating: 
Summary: Bland but good
Review: Winterbottom's filmmaking is very casual. However, the casualness contributes a unique qaulity to the tone and performances of the film. Many of the scenes seem improvised, they're so casual (a rare feat in period pieces...this is one of many similarities this film has to Robert Altman's great McCabe & Mrs. Miller). Michael Nyman's heavy-handed score is the film's major weakness.
Rating:
Summary: Fitting it's story... this one is a gem.
Review: With the immense amount of garbage that hollywood puts out on a yearly basis, you really need to be careful in your selections nowadays. Allow me to be your guide on this particular film, it is defenitely a must-see, though not for everyone. If you are expecting a thrill-seeking, shoot em up western then you are wasting your time, however, if you want to see great storytelling and perfect cinema... this one is for you. It is a rarity in modern cinema for direction to be the most important factor in a film. Most directors are essentially part problem solvers and part general, leading the troops through the maze of reshoots and press releases. That is not the case with "The Claim." Micheal Winterbottom does what very few directors are able to do, carry a film. Having said that, cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler desrves his share of praise as well, transforming the landscape of mid-1800's California into as lush and beautiful a backdrop as the Arabian desert in "Lawrence of Arabia". But the acting is terrific as well, from the lovely Milla Jovavich, to Natasha Kinski, and the great young duo of Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley, the film was cast perfectly. But the breakout here is the brilliant performance of Peter Mullen as the main character Daniel Dillon. Peter makes the most of the rich character as he winds his way from greed, to shame, all the way back to redemption, his engrossing performance is secondary to only the aforementioned Winterbottom and Kuchler. This film isn't merely worth your time, but it made my pick as the best film of 2001 (though it was technically released in 2000 for an attempt at an Oscar run.) And if you like this film, then check out Terrence Mallick's "Days Of Heaven".
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