Confused And Overlong, But Memorable

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2009)

James Coburn is John, an Irish revolutionary in exile in Mexico whose specialty is blowing things up with nitro and dynamite. Rod Steiger is Juan, a local bandito who wants to break into a bank, and thinks John will help.
"You make the holes with the holy water, and then I walk in and do the dirty work," Juan pleads. "John and Juan...Can't you understand it? That is...destiny." And so it is, though Juan has no idea what kind of destiny. For John, the fire of revolution still burns, and its flame is a deadly thing, for Juan and those he loves.
"Duck You Sucker" is the last western of Sergio Leone's career, though far different in content and tone than his other westerns set north of the Rio Grande. Politics takes center stage this time, specifically the radical kind that inflamed both Mexico in the 1910s and European movie houses when this film came out.
What is Leone trying to say? Sir Christopher Frayling, the Leone scholar who provides a DVD commentary for "Duck", describes its agenda as anti-revolutionary, that people who get caught up in it only get themselves hurt to no good end. But the film is rife with scenes of capitalist oppression, from an opening stagecoach ride where Juan endures the company of some snooty bluebloods to a long-pan scene where right-wing troops massacre civilians in concrete ditches, My-Lai style.
The movie does open with some pointed words from Chairman Mao, declaring "The Revolution is an act of violence", followed by a scene of Juan urinating on some ants. The camera seems to hold on one staggering ant, and you can argue Juan is that ant. But Leone seems to answer the bigger question, is revolution worth it, with an emphatic yes. The cause of overthrowing Mexico's ruling caste seems entirely righteous as depicted in "Duck You Sucker", and Juan is no gentle Gandhi type going in. So I'd take Frayling with a grain of salt.
As a revolutionary, however, Leone is not satisfying. "Duck You Sucker" struggles with a very long and convoluted story. There are two notable story jumps that are never explained, one in which Juan fools John into blowing up a church containing John's employer, and another when a sudden setback puts Juan in need of rescue. A rough and ugly tone predominates, as if Leone was trying to show the other makers of spaghetti westerns he could be as raunchy as them. Finally, the minor undertone of humor goes out of the movie halfway through, leaving you with a lot of unrelievedly heavy scenes.
Fortunately, there's a saving grace found throughout "Duck You Sucker": The majestic Ennio Morricone score. It's one of his best ever, even more inspiring than the music for "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". Surprising light and graceful in places, it suggests an influence from Burt Bacharach's work on "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid" just as Leone's tonal direction takes cues from another 1969 western, "The Wild Bunch". The melodies and themes work wonders at giving "Duck You Sucker" a richness and ballast the script seems to labor toward.
Steiger and Coburn make a terrific team despite a pair of dodgy accents. Leone gives us so many close-ups you begin to feel like Coburn's dentist, but the actors merit the focus by rising to each other's level, Steiger showing us as much charm as Coburn and Coburn as much intensity as Steiger. Alas, unlike the other Leone westerns before this, there is precious little in the way of interesting supporting work except for Antoine Saint-John as a Mexican SS officer.
Frayling calls "Duck You Sucker" a sign of Leone "growing up", but I see it more as the great director bending down to the level of filmmakers around him. Still, in its lead performances, in its dazzling musical score, and in moments of isolated wit and grandeur that pop up especially in the first half, you get a feeling for Leone's uniqueness.