Place

Rating: Null/10 (2 March 2008)

I've seen two modern westerns in close proximity: this and "3:10 to Yuma."
The main thing that defines the western is the notion of the western grand spaces on men, always men, purifying certain traits and dynamics. From that you get specialized versions of the usual stories, often about honor and revenge.
Within that there are few decisions to be made: which story, how pure, how close to cling to cliché (not necessarily bad), and most importantly what balance to put on the man versus the place.
Usually the decision is to focus on the man. That's served the Hollywood fame machine well for almost a century now. Its the choice made by the "Yuma" folks, and its pretty ordinary; the only difference is in this guy (Crowe) versus that one, say Wayne.
The choice that was made here is far better. Its more abstract than usual. It pretends to be more focused on men than usual, two men as is the case with "Yuma." But in fact the emphasis here is on the place. Its the place, the spaces and visions that define the urges and qualities that these men absorb. It allows for the thing to be visually oriented and Deakins is up to the job. He learned this working for the Coens.
The way this emerges is about story, Jesse (like Clyde Barrow) having become a legend through media exposure. The perspective is folded: we see a man who is cursed by what he sees of how others see him.
(His undoing even leverages this: the historically accurate scene of him admiring a train picture and exposing his back.)
The characters work, and the best we've seen Pitt in eons. But its the presentation of the world through what we see that matters. We enter the story not by getting the world by observing men and deducing the world; we see the world as they do and can see how it shapes them, and the tragedy we see unravel.
Both this and "Yuma" celebrate the kernel of honor in an extraordinary thief. But here you are in on the shaping. Its a noir idea, and much more welcome than mugging in chaps.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.