I've rarely been so totally disappointed by a movie as I was by this one. That's because it starts out so well! At the halfway mark, I was thinking I'd discovered one of the great westerns of all time. There's a wonderful sense of realism: the dirt, the sun, the hard work, these come through as in few other westerns I can think of. Jane Fonda does a great job as a weathered cowgirl who just refuses to give up. Caan is a bit out of place, but doesn't let things down, and Farnsworth is perfect as the old cowhand trying to get in just one more roundup. The romance between Caan and Fonda is under-played beautifully... you sense it, but never get the feeling that the writers forced it on the characters.
But then it all goes to pieces, with one of the stupidest endings I've ever seen on a major motion picture. Gone is the realism, the logic, the drama... everything, in fact, that you've been enjoying up till that point. All you've got left is cliché and stupidity: Snidely Wiplash twirling his mustachios over a truly moronic murder attempt (why didn't Robards just shoot everybody? or at least tie them up a bit better??), and an abrupt halt (you can't call it an "ending") that fails to resolve ANY of the film's more interesting plot lines. It's like first they ran out of ideas, then they ran out of film.
Most of Comes a Horseman is so good, I'd like to say it's worth watching, regardless. But the ultimate sense of frustration overwhelms any possible pleasure. Unless you literally have the discipline to switch off twenty minutes before the end, you definitely shouldn't waste your time on this sad misfire.
But then it all goes to pieces, with one of the stupidest endings I've ever seen on a major motion picture. Gone is the realism, the logic, the drama... everything, in fact, that you've been enjoying up till that point. All you've got left is cliché and stupidity: Snidely Wiplash twirling his mustachios over a truly moronic murder attempt (why didn't Robards just shoot everybody? or at least tie them up a bit better??), and an abrupt halt (you can't call it an "ending") that fails to resolve ANY of the film's more interesting plot lines. It's like first they ran out of ideas, then they ran out of film.
Most of Comes a Horseman is so good, I'd like to say it's worth watching, regardless. But the ultimate sense of frustration overwhelms any possible pleasure. Unless you literally have the discipline to switch off twenty minutes before the end, you definitely shouldn't waste your time on this sad misfire.