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OPEN RANGE (12A)

From the archive, first published Friday 19th Mar 2004.

DIRECTOR-ACTOR Kevin Costner returns to the western genre for this gun-slinging drama based on the novel by Lauran Paine, adapted for the screen by Craig Storper.

Like many of his films, Open Range is beautifully crafted and the pedestrian pacing affords more time for character development.

As a consequence, the film trots rather than canters to an ungainly 138 minutes, which will leave many feeling a tad saddle-sore.

Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) grazes his cattle on the open range, aided by his long-time employee Charley Waite (Costner) and recent recruits Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna).

Stopping outside a town run by a rancher named Baxter (Michael Gambon), Boss and Charley find themselves in a whole heap of trouble when Mose is arrested for reportedly fighting with the locals.

They take the badly injured Mose to the town physician, Doc Barlow (Dean McDermott), where Charley falls under the spell of spirited nurse Sue (Annette Bening).

Any prospects of a romance are soon quashed - the cattle must move on.

However, Boss' plans are dashed when the vindictive Baxter despatches a posse of men to shoot the cattle grazers and their steers.

Bound together by the `Code of the West' - to protect the innocent and remain true to your friends - Boss and Charley ride back into town for a full-blown shoot-out with Baxter and his goons.

Open Range is a rootin' tootin' old-fashioned western, about the camaraderie and loyalty of men who risk everything for a greater good.

The surrogate father-son relationship between Boss and Charley is nicely played by Duvall and Costner, the former bringing considerable gravitas to the role.

Benrubi and Luna lends strong support for the scant screen time they have at their disposal, while Gambon over-acts to almost comic effect.

Bening looks radiant and goes some way to offsetting the macho posturing elsewhere in the picture.

The gunfights are well choreographed, particularly the climactic skirmish which sees misfiring pistols and nerves play a crucial role in who survives the melee.

Unfortunately, the sexual chemistry between Costner and Bening is somewhat inert and their romantic interludes are weakened by some unintentionally laughable dialogue.

"Men are gonna get killed here today, Sue, and I'm gonna kill them," Charley tells her deadpan. I confess, I chuckled.

Rating: 6/10

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