Story Within

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2008)

What do you do with a modern western? Since now, few stories can be presented without some nod to self-awareness, you have to update it somehow to incorporate perspective. One solution is what we have here.
If the normal mode is that the viewer captures him or herself in the power of pure, abstract story in driving life, then the obvious next step is to have a character captured by story. Its what happens here.
Crowe plays a typical outlaw: so bad he's a pure fit for the archetype and therefore good. He's so opposed to the law of the land that he strictly follows the law of the genre, which in this case is the law of the medium. He's placed himself in a situation where he can reinforce his own story. Its why he lives.
Meanwhile, he encounters a farmer who we have gone to great lengths to understand that he is without story. Moreover, his teen son is engaged as his designated watcher, and we learn that the son believes there is no story there. What to do? Well, we have to have the bad guy, who owns the story by having mastered it, write the story for the farmer.
Its an amazingly simple construction, but apt for the genre.
I imagine it is delivered well enough. There isn't much cinematic novelty presented or required. In fact, sticking extremely close to the old, established shots and mugs is essential to the project. So that's what we get.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.