Appaloosa: DVD Review

Appaloosa: DVD Review

Appaloosa
Cast: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Lance Henriksen
Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Based on a book by crime writer Robert B Parker, comes Ed Harris' second directorial effort.
Appaloosa is set in the small western town of the same name, where Bragg (Jeremy Irons) is terrorizing the town having dispatched the local sheriff and his deputies.
One day, a pair of peacekeepers known as Hitch and Cole (Mortensen and Harris) ride into town and promise to restore law and order to Appaloosa and track down the killer in return for complete control.
After an initial confrontation, both Hitch and Cole find themselves tested by Bragg's men - and Cole in particular is tested (in a good way) by the arrival of Allie French (Renee Zellweger) with whom he begins a relationship.
However, after getting Bragg tried and convicted, things don't run quite as smoothly for the trio as perhaps they should - and it seems as if Bragg's influence hasn't been shaken as easily as they had expected.
Appaloosa is an odd sort of film - it takes a while to ease into its groove and some may find it a bit slow to get going. It's not your usual Western as well - there's a lot more character driven material than you'd expect and quite a quirky interplay between Cole and Hitch which errs into deadpan comedy at times.
But it's the relationships which keep this story going - and stop you from losing interest - if it's an old school western you're after with guns and shootings and stand offs, then there's a few here - and yet, the stand offs, while tense, end pretty quickly and brutally (the deaths of the sheriff at the start is over as quickly as it takes Bragg the time to draw his gun).
Cole and Hitch's relationship in particular is based on a long standing acquaintance and is at times reminiscent of the kind of banter and reactions you'd expect from a cop film - or a buddy movie.
There's some nice touches here and there which are scattered through the film (the bad guy's arrested coming out of a toilet) but overall, Appaloosa ever so slightly disappoints as its never really hits a high - it's got a good solid performance from its ensemble cast (particularly Lance Henriksen) but unfortunately it never helps it into the classic western category - rather more the curio category.
A smattering of extras include a commentary by Ed Harris, some additional scenes, and a quartet of featurettes.
Rating: 6/10