In a Valley of Violence isn't your typical Western. For one, it's not really big on style, or gunslinging in general, or even a strong plot. What it possesses instead is a keen eye for human nature, and ultimately, it may be the first ever Cowboy movie to also double as a comedy of manners. As a drifter who passes through a dump of a town with his dog, Ethan Hawke is slightly miscast; his lines, spoken in a soft, raspy Clint Eastwood-esque voice, never quite have the impact as the (in)famous Man With No Name. John Travolta, playing a U.S. Marshall, has perhaps his best role in years as a man who's fully aware that he's been cursed with a complete asshole of a son: an imbecile who pretty much dooms everyone around him with his arrogance and stupidity. Director Ti West has made a pretty cool Western for the millennial generation; I just doubt that it'll stand the test of time the way previous films in its genre have.
B
No comments:
Post a Comment