THE HI-LO COUNTRY
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Gramercy Pictures/PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Director: Stephen Frears Writer: Walon Green, novel by Max Evans Cast: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz, Sam Elliott
The paradox of "The Hi-Lo Country" is that in many ways it resembles the old-fashioned western with its scenes in a saloon, the interminable fist-fights, the assertive females; and yet it departs from the genre in so many others. For one particular, the lines between good guys and bad are not so clear-cut. For another, it does not depict one lone gunfighter as hero, but opts instead to be a buddy movie about two men who are so tight that they would die for each other. In yet another route, perhaps the most significant one, it demonstrates its director's preoccupation with showing a historic crossroads that took the last frontier into the corporate age, much to the regret of those who would like to think of the American West as our last remnant of individualism. Significantly it is directed by Stephen Frears, a British helmer brought up in the city of Leicester who looks at the heartland of America from an outsider's point of view with the understanding that only a disinterested third party can bring. "The Hi-Lo Country" is a picture that can fascinate the most die-hard urbanite, the sort of dude who thought that westerns were strictly for the kiddies. It could enchant even New Yorkers who believe that if you sail west on the Hudson you'd simply fall off the edge.
What is the source of this charm? Part of the secret is in the fortuitous casting of Woody Harrelson, whose role as an architect in a previous picture was more indecent than the proposal of the title. Out of place there as Demi Moore's wife, he is right at home in Hi-Lo country where the Texas- born, fair-haired lad who made a name for himself in the TV series "Cheers" is a natural on a horse--roping steers, and causing mayhem throughout the countryside. By equipping Billy Crudup as his diametrical opposite and yet credibly showing how the two got along so famously, director Frears succeeds admirably in underscoring the surprises that incongruity can convey. Some exquisite photography on location in New Mexico, particularly in the long shots of a cattle roundup, gives the film its nostalgic kick: a sight or two to symbolize the end of an era when the region of hard- drinking Marlboro men gives way to the turf of corporate agri- business, in which cattle get shipped by current but decidedly unromantic methodology.
What drives the story forward is the interest that the two fast friends have in the same woman. At a time that the nation's strong young men shipped out to Europe and the Far East during World War II leaving behind a surplus of newly aggressive, man-hungry women, Mona (Patricia Arquette) settled in marriage for a man she could barely stand. No sooner did the boys come home in 1945 then she cast her eyes and then some on handsome, Pete (Billy Crudup), a strong, silent type also pursued by his regular girl friend Josepha (Penelope Cruz). Obsessed by his desire for Mona, Pete is crushed when Mona shifts her devotion to Pete's best buddy and riding partner, Big Boy (Woody Harrelson), a self- destructive, macho man who looks death in the eye without fear but who is just slightly domesticated by the woman whose body he compares not unfavorably to that of his best horse.
Stephen Frears, effectively, nay triumphantly, transforming a novel by Max Evans, portrays the New West which is evolving while the passion of its characters plays out. Cattle Baron Jim Ed Love (Sam Elliot) is buying up land, even forcing out reluctant cowboys with the blessing of the local magistrates. Love has earned the contempt of the townspeople, who celebrate Pete's powerful fists as they land with fury on the Ed Love's henchmen. Pete's disdain does not stop on his doorstep, as he scorns his own kid brother, Little Boy (Cole Hauser), for staying home during the war and working for the detested buyer.
According to critic David Thomsen, Stephen Frears once said that he does not enjoy working in America, but you'd not know it from this picture. This movie comes across as a paen, a joyous ode to the majesty of the big country, to an area that the director's compatriots must look at with envy from their tight little island. Perhaps the covetous English look with vindictive glee on the very technology that has transformed the land of Big Boy into the terra firma of a more productive but obviously less interesting corporate agribusiness. At any rate, that's the impression you take away from this large, brawling, lusty film which boasts nothing short of mythic resonance.
Rated R. Running Time: 127 minutes. (C) 1998 Harvey Karten
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews