The Long Riders

 1.5/4

Starring: James Keach, Stacy Keach, David Carradine, Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, Randy Quaid, Dennis Quaid, Pamela Reed, James Whitmore Jr., Christopher Guest, Nicholas Guest

Rated R (probably for Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity)

"The Long Riders" is noteworthy for one thing and one thing only: it stars four sets of brothers.  Ultimately what should be a casting coup turns out to be its Achilles heel.  Trying to balance nearly a dozen characters would try the talents of the best filmmakers even if they had a three hour running time.  Trying to do that with only 100 minutes is just asking for disaster.

Story is not the film's strong suit.  Allegedly about the final exploits of the James/Younger gang, the film has no real plot to speak of.  In fact, it's not really about the crimes at all.  It's more about the love life of the main characters.  It might have been interesting, if a bad bait-and-switch, but the film is so badly written that no character gains any traction.  It's impossible to tell who is who among the main characters, let alone the supporting parts.  It's just too much.  We aren't given enough to care anyone in this movie, and that leads to boredom.

For all the talent on screen, it is ironic that most of them are so flat and uncharismatic.  Partly it's due to the fact that many don't have much screen time.  The Quaid brothers are relegated to bit parts and the Guests only appear at the beginning and the end.  The only ones who leave any sort of impression are David and Keith Carradine, who exhibit life and personality that is sorely missing from the rest of the film.  By far the least impressive performer is James Keach.  His portrayal of Jesse James is so wooden that he should have worn a fire hazard sign with all the gunshots.  The goal may have been to demythologize Jesse James by showing him to be a thief and a murderer as opposed to the Robin Hood that pop culture has turned him into, but that doesn't change the fact that the man comes across as a lifeless automaton.

Like many of Walter Hill's films, "The Long Riders" is extremely violent.  In fact, the film's lone high point is that the action scenes are well-staged (if not always coherent).  They break up the monotony of the supposed "character moments," but they can't save the film.  The major action scene, a bank robbery in Minnesota, is directed with flair and a lot of energy.  But it goes on too long and Hill can't keep track of all the characters.  And I am willing to bet money that he reused cutaways to anonymous gunfighters.

It sounds strange to say this, but in a way I was reminded of the Michael Mann classic "Heat" while watching this film.  Both films contrast the violent professional lives of their antiheroes with their complicated personal ones.  Such a comparison only serves to make "The Long Riders" look worse.  "Heat" had a beautifully written and balanced screenplay and an ensemble cast at the top of their game.  This is just a gimmick with a director in over his head.

You're better off watching a History Channel documentary on the James gang instead.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more