Too Legendary and not enough subtlety

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2013)

Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) hoped to escape the world to live in Montana. He would raise 3 sons Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Samuel (Henry Thomas), and Tristan (Brad Pitt) in an idyllic life. However, the first World War and the arrival of Samuel's girl Susannah Fincannon (Julia Ormond) would put a strain in all their lives.
It's very grand. It's a little too grand. It's too literary. There are great actors here. But even they can't elevate it beyond melodrama. Maybe they participated in overacting especially Brad Pitt. There is no time for subtlety. The landscape vistas are majestic. The music is sweeping. The emotions are big. The betrayals are epic. The losses are unimaginable. The journeys are soul wrenching.
It may be impossible to do otherwise with the material. But I like to see it tried with a bit more restraint.