Back in the helmer's saddle for the first time since 1997 sci-fi yawner The Postman, Kevin Costner rustles up an unashamedly old-fashioned Western in which he and fellow freegrazer Robert Duvall mosey along the revenge trail. And we mean mosey, the going being sl-o-o-o-w right up until the final, furious shoot-out with cattle baron Michael Gambon and co.
But give Kev credit: few oat-operas in recent memory have shown such a love of the genre, from the picture-perfect prairie vistas to the paean to male friendship that supplies the film's humour and emotional heft.
DVD Extras:
Costner's commentary makes no apology for the tardy pacing, arguing that it reflects the rhythm of the era: "Wagons move slow. They get stuck." Elsewhere he bemoans the R rating Open Range was slapped with in the States, despite the lack of nookie and naughty words. Profanity pops up in the deleted scenes, a worthy haul whose exclusion the director/star laments in his intros. Working overtime, our man turns heartfelt narrator for historical doc America's Open Range. Good stuff, but there's no input from Duvall, Gambon or leading lady Annette Bening, the stars only showing their faces in a behind-the-scenes music-vid montage.
