GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 5.6
Date Released: 12/10/93 Running Length: 1:55 Rated: PG-13 (Violence)
Starring: Wes Studi, Jason Patric, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman,
Matt Damon, Kevin Tighe
Director: Walter Hill
Producers: Walter Hill and Neil Canton
Screenplay: John Milius and Larry Gross
Music: Ry Cooder
Released by Columbia Pictures
GERONIMO is a "revisionist" retrospective of the United States' so-called "Geronimo Campaign," and the costs of those events to the lives of individuals and nations. The tale of how five thousand U.S. troops failed to capture a tiny band of renegade Chiricahua Apaches forms the framework for most of this movie as it attempts to redress some of the wrongs of the history books.
After I'd seen this movie, someone asked me who the good guys were. I had a hard time answering, and that points out one of GERONIMO's fundamental flaws. For the most part, its characterizations are so weak and ambivalent that the audience finds it difficult to develop much feeling for any of the people we encounter on screen, regardless of whether they're white or Native American.
This is a beautifully-photographed motion picture, although cinematographer Lloyd Ahern has a tendency to overuse red and amber filters. Nevertheless, the Utah landscape which formed the backdrop for such John Ford classics as CHEYENNE AUTUMN and RIO GRANDE is shown in its best light. If nothing else, GERONIMO at least has the look of an epic.
Wes Studi, the Cherokee actor who gave such an impassioned portrayal of Magua in last year's THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, is more subdued as Geronimo. While Studi does his best to bring out the warring nobility and bloodlust within the legendary Apache leader, he is ultimately curtailed by a screenplay that seems interested in two things only: showing battles and giving history lessons.
Jason Patric plays Lt. Charles Gatewood, the officer given charge of arranging Geronimo's surrender. Gatewood is supposed to be torn by duty to his country and sympathy with a people his government is about to betray, but Patric does such a poor job of bringing to the fore anything but surface emotions that we lose all interest in his character and, as a result, the film loses much of its appeal.
Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall don't give their best performances here, but they're entirely believable, and they elevate the film a level during their scenes. Hackman is General George Crook, a sympathetic officer who gets replaced because Geronimo gets away from him. In a more interesting role, Duvall is Al Sieber, an Apache hunter who admits to a grudging respect for his arch rival Geronimo.
Although Patric's flat performance doesn't help matters, it's the confused and boring script that ultimately proves to be GERONIMO's undoing. The battle scenes are wonderful, but much of the exposition between them is tedious in the extreme. Also, the movie doesn't seem to know which side to sympathize with. Instead of that indecision leading to a gritty result, it creates ambivalence and apathy.
In a time when Westerns are regaining their popularity, there are bound to be a few miscues. GERONIMO is not a bad movie, but neither does it live up to its promise. The legend itself may be fascinating, but this treatment doesn't have the life necessary to be of more than passing interest. Those expecting another DANCES WITH WOLVES had better look elsewhere.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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