LEGENDS OF THE FALL
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1995 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: This is an old-fashioned epic of an
early 20th Century Montana ranching family and the
coming of more urbanized life styles. An alienated
father and three very different sons pull in
different directions. The film features nice
photography and a rich score. Rating: low +3 (-4
to +4).
Much too rarely seen these days are the big, sprawling historical epics with beautiful scenery well photographed, and with big brash scores. That's what LEGENDS OF THE FALL is. This is a story of Montana going through the transition from its more wild frontier past to so-called civilization. It is the story of the three sons of a ranch family: Tristan (Brad Pitt), a wild remnant of the frontier culture; Alfred (Aidan Quinn), who chooses ties with the coming civic world; and the young idealist Samuel (Henry Thomas). The head of the family is Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), an alienated and disillusioned retired cavalry officer who grew to hate all government after he was ordered to help preside over the destruction of the Plains Indians. From his early youth Tristan forms a bond with OneStab (Gordon Tootoosis), Col. Ludlow's Indian scout who now lives on the ranch. OneStab introduces Tristan to Indian mystical ways. The boys grow with a seemingly unbreakable bond. But when Samuel first brings home a fiancee, Susannah Finncannon (Julia Ormond), then convinces his other two brothers that the three should enlist to fight in the Great War breaking out in Europe, he sets in motion a train of events that were to change completely all the relationships in the family.
The storytelling is occasionally just a bit rushed and sketchy in LEGENDS OF THE FALL. The plot has a lot of territory to cover and while the film is 134 minutes long, it could easily have made good use of another half hour or more. Though the story that formed the basis was of only novella length when published in ESQUIRE, the film has an epic sweep. John Toll's camera work can admire the foothills of Montana or show the chaos of a battlefield in France with equal grace. On the other hand, however, there are some noticeable visual mistakes, including a child of thirteen who when seen three or four years later still looks like a child of thirteen. The narrative could have fallen into melodrama with its fraternal romantic conflicts, but Zwick generally keeps the story on a higher level. The one concession to melodrama that bothers is in Tristan's practicing of Indian ritual, often in unlikely places like a battlefield in France.
Following close on the heels of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, we have a very different sort of role for Brad Pitt. Considering that in 1992 he was still getting thankless roles like the minor one in COOL WORLD, his is becoming a major name in films. While his is the character of greatest interest, the most demanding role is probably Aidan Quinn's. Anthony Hopkins gets second billing, but has a distinctly secondary role. An actor of less stature would probably not gotten second billing for this role as written.
LEGENDS OF THE FALL is a thoughtful and occasionally powerful epic film. It is unusual to see film makers taking a risk on this type of film any more, but this one deserves to pay off. I rate it a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
.
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