THE HI-LO COUNTRY (M). (Polygram/Palace) Director: Stephen Frears Stars: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, James Gammon, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Penelope Cruz, John Diehl, Enrique Castillo, Lane Smith, Rosaleen Linehan Running time: 129 minutes.
Although The Hi-Lo Country is set in the harsh, untamed cattle country of New Mexico in the late 1940's, it quickly becomes obvious that we are venturing into Sam Peckinpah territory here. The Hi- Lo Country explores many of those themes common to his movies - the death of the old west and its values, and that strange code of loyalty that exists between hard and violent men.
Peckinpah tried in vain for many years to bring Max Evans' 1961 novel to the screen. Producers Martin Scorsese and Barbara De Fina have succeeded where Peckinpah failed. Walon Green (who wrote The Wild Bunch, one of the all-time classic westerns and one of my favourite films) has fashioned a grand, sweeping epic from Evans' novel, although some elements are far less compelling than others. Scorsese has brought aboard British director Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette, etc), with whom he collaborated on the marvellous noir-like thriller The Grifters.
An outsider, Frears directs the material with unusual intelligence. He doesn't romanticise the characters or the setting as much as Peckinpah would have. The film also lacks Peckinpah's characteristic trade mark touches - the graphic violence and the strong misogynistic streak. Oliver Stapleton's glorious wide screen cinematography beautifully brings to life the harsh open spaces of New Mexico, imbuing the film with an almost epic quality.
Many young men, returning home from Europe following the war, found the old cattle country had changed drastically during their absence. Many families facing hardship and financial ruin had been forced to sell their farms to wealthy land barons. Deprived of their legacy, the young men were often forced to work for these wealthy ranchers for wages. Pete Calder (Billy Crudup, from Inventing The Abbotts, etc) is one such returning soldier, who prefers to work his own modest 1600 acres, with help from his friend Big Boy Matson (Woody Harrelson).
Big Boy though is a tough, hard drinking cowboy of the old school, an embodiment of the old west, who doesn't walk away from a fight. He courts trouble when he begins an increasingly public affair with Mona (Patricia Arquette), the wife of Les Birk (John Diehl), foreman for ruthless local rancher Jim Ed Love (Sam Elliott). It's an affair that can only end in violence and tragedy.
Crudup gives a solid performance as Pete, the laconic, introspective narrator of this nostalgic tale. Harrelson somehow seems miscast here in a role that required an actor with a meaner, rougher edge. Arquette lends her sultry presence to the pivotal role of Mona.
The Hi-Lo Country is best viewed as a poignant, elegiac homage to both the classic western movies of yesteryear and, ultimately, the late Peckinpah himself.
*** greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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