Hi-Lo Country
Based on thenovelby  Max Evans and directed by Stephen Frears,The Hi-Lo  Countrycharted a long and circuitous route to the big screen, and the final result  proves that the material posed a major--and perhaps insurmountable--challenge for  screen adaptation. It's easy to see why this contemporary Western was once a  coveted project of director Sam Peckinpah; its codes of honor, male bonding, and  hardened morality would've played nicely into Peckinpah's artistic legacy. There are  clear echoes of Peckinpah in the screenplay by Walon Green (who wroteThe  Wild Bunch), and while the movie is blessed by Woody Harrelson's vivid performance as a reckless latter-day cowboy, Frears fails to maintain a compelling  tone and the rest of the cast nearly fades into the background.Billy Crudup (Without Limits) plays Harrelson's best pal, just returned to  New Mexico from service in World War II with hopes of starting a cattle ranch free  from the greedy clutches of a local rancher (Sam Elliott) who dominates the town of  Hi-Lo like a bootclad kingpin. Harrelson joins in the effort, but tensions rise when he  connects with the sultry seductress (Patricia Arquette) with whom Crudup has fallen  inexplicably in love. Harrelson has provoked others as well, and he seems primed for  a fall, butThe Hi-Lo Countryis a film out of balance. Memorable moments  are found in abundance, and the film's period detail is impeccable, but Crudup's  character is so underwritten and underplayed that his role as narrator and ostensible  hero has minimal dramatic impact. By the time fate deals its inevitable blow, it's too  late to care. Frears has suffered from similar missteps before (rememberMary  Reilly?), andThe Hi-Lo Countryleaves you wondering what Peckinpah  might have done with the novel he so dearly admired.--Jeff Shannon