I quite enjoyed this western. Interesting characters, beat-o-rific story and solid, often funny, writing. Russel Crowe’s refined (but not greasy) “bad guy” and Christian Bale’s rough “good guy” made for an usual and exciting dynamic. Kudos too to Ben Foster for playing anything but weak. Beautiful scenery shot in a straightforward way reinforced the authentic feel of the film. The only misstep I found was in the casting of Luke Wilson in a minor role. The guy is too much of a goof for me to take him seriously. But otherwise, fine job, James Mangold.
Filed under: Film
