Appaloosa: A Review

The film Appaloosa is an odd sort of Western.  It participates in some of the most tried and true elements of the genre (the violent hero and villain, the incompetent towns folk, gritty gun play, etc.), but there is an oddly discordant tone to the film. While I can recommend the film based on the performances of Ed Harris and in particular Viggo Mortensen, viewers should be aware that the film is not what it purports to be. 

The film starts as a typical Western.  Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole, gun fighter extraordanaire who goes from town to town cleaning up the riff raff in the name of the law.  With him is his sidekick, Everett Hitch (Mortensen) who uses an 8 gauge shot gun to great effect.  They have come to the town of Appaloosa in New Mexico territory.  Their marshal has been shot dead by cattle baron Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) and they now have no way to protect themselves. 

One expects at this point a series of confrontation, a give and take, between Cole and Bragg, and to a certain extent we get that.  The plot is complicated by the arrival of Allison French (Renee Zellweger).  Cole quickly falls for her, seemingly dividing his soul between his wandering gun fighting ways and the desire for a home. Hitch believes Allie is not quite what she seems, and the story gives us reason to believe him. 

Cole eventually arrests Bragg for the murder of the former marshal. Bragg is convicted, but on the way hang him, Bragg's hired guns waylay the train.  They have kidnapped Allie and demand Bragg as Ransom.  Cole, who has openly proclaimed that he does not fear death, apparently fears the death of his woman so he complies.  Cole and Hitch then take after them in order to rescue Allie and exact some revenge. 

It is at this point that the film gets complicated and cannot be adequately discussed without giving away key plot points.  Let's just say that the resolution is uncertain.  The hired guns are killed, but Bragg gets away.  Allie is rescued, but Cole learns that she is not the woman he thought she was. 

This appears like it could be the end of the film, but it is not.  There is a kind of second act that focuses on the relationship between Allie and Cole.  The question is whether either one of them can really settle down.  Bragg has also come back to town with a pardon from his old friend, President Chester Arthur.  A confrontation ensues, but not in the way one would expect.

The film suffers from a bit of indecision.  It can't decide whether it is a gun fighter movie or a love story.  One way to solve this dilemma is to make explicit the uncertainty within Cole, the conflict between guns and home.  But this is papered over.  Thus it is like there are two movies running side by side that do not realize the other one is there.  Also, the film suffers from Zellweger's inadequate performance.  She plays Allie as a modern woman stuck in the 1880s New Mexico.  Sure, the script makes he lines a bit more antiquated, but she does not enter into the role, thus is not really believable. 

I like Westerns. If you do too, you'll like Appaloosa.  Harris and Mortensen are good in their roles, and hey, some of us just like cowboy movies.  Just be aware that the Cole-Allie love affair is more important that it seems at first.