Open Range, based on the Lauran Paine novel The Open Range Men (1990), is the first major Western since The Unforgiven (1992) and Tombstone (1993). Most Westerns are in black and white with grainy sound, so the more recent technical advances in filmmaking bring many new dimensions to Open Range, notably postcard cinematography and the sharp sounds of rifles and thunderstorms. The title refers to a time when owners of cattle were still driving them from one open grazing area to another because not all land was homesteaded. (The filming location, which appears to be Montana, is actually Calgary.) Some enterprising farmers and cattle raisers, notably Irishman Baxter (played by Michael Gambon), filed a homestead claim to own a specific plot of land, which they eventually enclosed with fences. Others, notably Spearman (played by Robert Duvall) in the film, were "free grazers" who inevitably clashed with the homesteaders. When the film begins, Spearman is driving his cattle along with his longtime employee Charlie Thistlewaite (played by Kevin Costner, who also directs the film) and newly hired hands Mose (played by Abraham Benrubi) and Button (played by Diego Luna). Instead of villainizing the free grazers, who are trespassing on private property as they proceed with their cattle, they are the heroes of the film, though the aging Spearman longs for the day when he can sell his cattle and settle down as a proprietor or a business with a roof over his head and a floor beneath his feet. A homesteader might have been the hero, but Baxter's arrogance trips him up. As the richest man in the area, Baxter has many employees, the sheriff of the town is under his thumb, and the townspeople fear his wrath. The year is 1882, and he lords over a part of the United States where order is enforced by guns more than by law. Rather than charge the free grazers a fee for passing over homestead land, Baxter seeks to kill them, to drive off, or even to steal the cattle. A Western showdown with guns blazing is inevitable, but a love story begins when Charlie meets Sue (played by Annette Bening), the sister of the town physician (played by Dean McDermott), who patches up Mose and later Button after they are mercilessly mauled by Baxter's enforcers. A happy ending for the film is not in doubt, but the paradigm of the story is rather disturbing, as are the cheers of the audience when lawbreaking free grazers barnstorm into town to shoot their way to bring about regime change. Is Spearman the George Bush of the film, with Baxter the Saddam Hussein? Or does the paradigm apply to a certain part of the Middle East? MH

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The Open Range Men
by Lauran Paine