Review

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2011)

According to the ancient lore of Native Americans, there is a story within each of us; the story of a life often guided by some inner voice, which some hear with great clearness. Some live by what they hear-- and such people become crazy. They become legend. And so it was destined to be for a young man named Tristan Ludlow, who was born toward the end of the Nineteenth Century and grew up in the wide open spaces of Montana, where his father, Colonel William Ludlow, had taken his family to escape the imperfections of a society ruled by a government he could no longer respect. The background is the west of America in 1910. We could see how the people live in the west, their relation with American Indian, how they hunt the wild game. Tristan is a typical western hero and his whole life is full of passion and romantic. His soul connects with a bear, in an old proverb that everyone has a beast in their soul. Tristan's bear is always awake that is the misfortune of his family and himself. Hopkins anchors the film with a brilliantly understated performance, creating a three-dimensional character who personifies the very iconoclastic ideals and principles he espouses. And Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career as Tristan; watching him, you feel that restlessness and conflict raging within his soul, and you can sense his passion as he seeks his direction in life. Quinn is also extremely effective as Alfred, the older brother, delivering an emotional and convincing performance, as does Julia Ormond, as Susannah, a young woman conflicted inside as she tries to sort out her feelings for the Ludlow brothers. Zwick knew exactly what he needed from his actors to tell the story he wanted to tell, and he managed to get it all, from the principals to the least of the supporting players; and it's all there on the screen-- the passion, the intensity, the love and the care. It's quite simply a beautiful piece of filmmaking by all concerned.