Very Flawed With Impressive Technical Features

Rating: 6/10 (11 March 2013)

Like the instincts of a sad puppy dog, "Legends of the Fall" is likely enough to manipulate the audience by staring at you in the eyes, jump at you and salivate at you with their big red tongues. It's an unsettling story that's way too oratorical for my tastes and seems more dependent on style over substance, but for some reason I can't explain, it still lured me because it was very entertaining. I could rattle on for hours of all the flaws in this movie, and yet after all the ranting I still find something that made this movie at least worthwhile. And the main element that made this film worthy to view comes in one person and his name's Brad Pitt. Just Pitt's performance alone eradicates all the flaws that have materialized in the entire movie alone.
Situated in the great state of Montana in the early 20th century, it tells the tale of the Ludlow family as Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) decides to resign from military life after getting frustrated over the government's neglecting the policies over Native People. The story begins in the year 1914 when the youngest of the three Ludlow brothers Samuel (Henry Thomas) introduces his family towards his new fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond). But her welcoming has quite a chain reaction because the oldest Ludlow brother Alfred (Aidan Quinn) is also smitten by her presence, but she has her eyes set on the middle son, Tristan (Brad Pitt). Soon the three brothers follow their father's legacy and go off to fight in the First World War. Sadly one of the brothers gets killed and a love triangle ensues between the surviving two brothers and leaving poor Susannah in the middle.
For the opening half hour I actually was glued to the seat. At first I was given the impression that this movie was going to be a good, wholesome family drama with tons of positive issues going for it. All the performances were quite brilliant and the exchange in dialogues by the Ludlow Brothers felt natural like they really were brothers and the pacing was perfect in a way that it was neither rushed or lagging, but right in the middle. But once the brothers journey off to Europe, the movie starts to fall apart and never has time to recover. One minute I'm enjoying this confidently made movie and then next thing you know it falls off the tracks and like a bumpy ride you feel yourself relived that it's finally over. What transpires in this rubble is Tristan travelling the globe with a guilty conscious while he's selling alcohol to the Irish and we're treated to three funerals. And by making the story feel like a Native American legend, we see Tristan mysteriously befriending a bear, which not only looks comical, but contrived.
Though the script and the performances may have looked awkward, I would have to say that the technical features. In 1989, director Edward Zwick created a brilliant atmosphere when he made "Glory" and he follows this flow with him in "Legends of the Fall". The war scenes look identical to "Glory" with only contrasting uniforms. John Toll's photography located in Alberta and British Columbia (passing off as Montana) is picturesque and that one scene where Susannah is reading a note as she walks through the coniferous trees was absolutely stunning. The musical score by James Horner is as smooth to the ears that you might hum to easily. As the story seems to progressively lack, the sights and sounds of "Legends of the Fall" get better through time.
In spite of all that the best casting choice Zwick provides for us is the performance of Brad Pitt. From the early start, Pitt grabs our attention Sure he has to carry himself through the bloated melodramatic moments, but it's that intensity that plays a pivotal part in this role and is voided from being overdone and his tearful moments don't look superficial like crocodile tears that some of the male performers provide. The letdown here is that Pitt fades away from the narrative in substantial periods of time as the other Ludlow brothers and Susannah become the central characters. Which is too bad because the characters lack the panache to keep the audience from drifting off. The last fifteen minutes wraps up quite nicely with a retribution message similar to that in "The Godfather", but it hits the spot in this movie. All I can say now is that "Legends of the Fall" lacks originality and at times becomes a bit awkward. However, if you could put a mega-star in a Western film, it can only come across as satisfying enough to just be almost like a guilty pleasure.