Wolf's Howl Newsletter August 20, 2003 
- Subject: OPEN RANGE review
Rating: 8 out of a possible 10 (Would have been 9 except for a few holes that perhaps only ranchers and researchers of the Old West might catch)
Howdy folks,
Here I come again. Response to my last letter about the movie OPEN RANGE was so overwhelming that I have to send you this follow up. Many people have written asking me to give my own review after seeing the show, which I did yesterday. I will GLADLY give that review.
Folks, OPEN RANGE is a must-see for anyone who likes Western movies. Let's go a step beyond that and say it's a must-see for anyone who likes a good, fulfilling movie, period. Not since TOMBSTONE have I seen a movie this well done and utterly enjoyable. This movie is going to bring many a new fan to the Western genre. That is as good as written in stone. They have already almost made back all the money they put into the making of the movie, which for Costner is a huge bonus, as he's been floundering the last few years, I hear.
The movie itself? It deals with Boss (Robert Duvall) and Charlie (Kevin Costner), an older cattle owner and his middle-aged partner, who are trailing a herd of cattle across open range to market them. Accompanying them are Mose, their jovial, overweight cook, and Button, the foreign kid they picked up and have been partially raising. While passing a certain town run by Baxter, the big mean villain, they send Mose into town on errands, and he ends up in a big fight and gets pretty beat up, while beating the tar out of the cowhands and toughs who started the fight. Of course, these toughs happen to work for Baxter, who hates free grazers like Boss and Charlie.
The beating of Mose was so brutal, and the intentions of Baxter to stampede or steal Boss's cattle so blatant that Boss and Charlie decide to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. Even knowing the marshal and his crew are on Baxter's payroll, they face down Baxter's men in a dark campfire scene that will rival any Western scenario ever for good, if brutal, prairie justice. Unfortunately, while Boss and Charlie are doling out this justice, the other half of Baxter's crew is back at Boss and Charlie's camp. I won't tell you what they do there, but it is bad enough that now Boss and Charlie are out not just for blood, but for payment by death of the men responsible.
Into the mix is thrown Annette Bening, who plays Sue, Charlie's romance. Yes, as some have said, the romance is a little rushed, but it seems to work. And yes, Sue is a little too pretty and a little too old to yet be unmarried or unclaimed, but hey, it's fiction. Sue gets into the action, not with guns, but with pure feminine boldness that is very refreshing and almost made the movie all by itself. No, she never saves the day for the hero, but her bravery saves Button's life at least twice. She is a great character.
The gunfight scene at the end of the movie is tremendous. A little drawn-out, in my opinion, and it's a touch unexplainable why the townspeople suddenly act the way they do, but hey--it becomes a feel good ending, so to speak. The only part of the gun fight I really did not care for was a scene in which one of the deputies, who has run from the fight, is chased and gunned down by the townspeople. Hey, this guy has already given in, and he's just a paid deputy in the first place. There was absolutely no reason to kill the guy, but they did anyway, in very cold blood.
I could go way into my list of negatives of the movie, too, but to those of you who aren't into old West costuming and authentic hats, gun leather, etc., that would make no difference whether or not you enjoy the movie. If you want that list, you'll have to email me privately.
The only major part in the entire movie that I thought was done in poor taste was a burial scene wherein Robert Duvall's character, Boss, makes a blasphemous comment that absolutely did not need to be in this picture. What's more, he never really redeems himself for saying it. As big an actor as Duvall is, it is my feeling that he could have changed this line had he wanted to, and I was ashamed of him for doing it. I guarantee my friend Clint Walker would never have lowered himself to say this on film or any other place. But again, that is my only major complaint about the film.
The scenery was gorgeous, the cinematography was superb, the music was not TOMBSTONE, but it fit the picture, I thought; the characters were well done, except they could have put a little more thought and time into Baxter, the villain; the characters were well-chosen, and once again Costner weakened my innate distaste for him as an actor. Even his normally dull, monotone voice seemed to fit Charlie's character, and he looked a lot tougher than normal too (maybe because he seemed to have gone out of his way to look like Tom Selleck in QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER).
Overall, the movie was well worth your dime, and your time. I will be seeing it on the big screen again. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE: IF YOU DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE ON THE BIG SCREEN YOU WILL REGRET IT. This is not a small screen kind of movie. The sound effects are superb, as is the scenery, and you need to experience this with it happening all around you. Besides, if we are to make the Western come back to life, they have to know we will go out to the theater and watch them. I don't think these actors deserve 10 to 80 million dollars a year, either, but that's the world we live in.
Go see the movie. If you are not offended by SOB and other smaller swear words, and if you can forgive God's name taken in vain a time or two (it upsets me, too, but in this world it seems to be pretty accepted by the masses) then the language in the movie is mild. NO F WORDS WHATSOEVER, which even Tombstone stooped to once. Don't be fooled, it was a word they used back then, but I still don't see any place for it in Westerns or any other movie.
Very little blood, although there was a lot of death.
NO NUDITY OR SEX. One kissing scene.
THIS MOVIE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RATED R. I have no idea where they got the R rating. TRUE GRIT was rated G in 1969, and it had as much vivid violence as this movie did. I took my 4, 7 and 9 year old boys, and they loved every minute of the movie.
I would put OPEN RANGE into the top 20 best Westerns.
Kirby Jonas, August 20, 2003
P.S. Many people have asked me why I don't like Costner all that much generally. It's because of his monotone voice on screen, but more of a personal thing with the way he lives his life. Let's just say he's a little carefree with his morals. But he did a superb job with this movie, and I hope we encourage him to do more of them.
August 18, 2003 New Western in theaters OPEN RANGE 
Hello all,
I have been remiss in not sending you out a newsletter for quite some time. This time I'm going to get right to the point. This is not my normal newsletter. This is a plea to you who have an interest in the Old West.
There is a new movie in theaters called OPEN RANGE. It stars Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner. (Notice I list Duvall first, even though Costner put it out and is the main star.) I'm not a huge fan of Costner, so I forgive anyone else who is not. But this movie, I'm told, is a must-see. I'm going to see it myself tonight, and probably several times.
Why? If we are ever to bring back the Western this is our chance. Please don't miss this show. I know there are those of you who won't go to R Rated movies, and this one is R. But the reviews coming in are that it should not have been R. There is no "F word," no sex, no nudity, and no overly graphic violence. Maybe all that talks some of you out of going to the movie! Well, if so then the old-fashioned Western was not for you anyway, and John Wayne probably is not your thing.
But please, if you have any interest whatsoever in seeing the West brought back to the forefront of our entertainment, GO SEE OPEN RANGE. And also, email all your friends, and call those who don't have email. I consider this movie our last stand against a wall of yuppies trying to push the traditional Western under the waves of modernism. HELP!
Kirby Jonas
Review: OPEN RANGE
OPEN RANGE is a classic Western, in the best sense of the word. It's magnificently photographed, and brilliantly acted. Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner are great. Plus, a bonus, at least for me, was Michael Jeter in his role as the livery stable owner. I've seen him several times performing in Broadway musicals, and seeing him take on a role so different, and doing it well, was indeed a pleasant surprise.
There is one poignant scene where the sniffling of audience members could be heard throughout the theater. And, the film contains one of the longest, most intense, and dramatic gunfights I can recall in any Western. I can reveal, without spoiling the plot, that, unexpectedly in a Costner film, there's even a slight jab at PC in the middle of the gunfight.
Plus, the audience contained quite a substantial number of kids, many under the age of ten, quite a few of them with their parents or grandparents. The few of them I overheard as I left the theater were describing the film as "awesome". Maybe we'll get a few more Western fans out of this.
OPEN RANGE is a must-see for any serious fan of the Western. It bogs down a bit in the middle of the film, but, all in all, it will probably go down as one of the classic Western films. Don't miss it.