Alright, it's confession time. I have been in love with Ed Harris ever since I saw him slap Tony Montana's sister back to life in The Abyss. Phenomenal scene. Period. I became an instant fan. That was years ago. Then Viggo Mortensen came along. His character in A History of Violence gave me chills. Nice, familiar chills. He walked and talked like my kinda man. A man just trying to live a peaceful, low-key life. But in walks Ed Harris to upset the mother of all apple carts. Family. He forces Mortensen's Tom Stall to revert back to the innate violence he was so desperately trying to squelch. These two ate up the screen. As the credits rolled, I closed my eyes and silently prayed to the Movie Gods that they would act together once again. Besides, William Hurt was irksomely miscast as Viggo's brother in A History of Violence. Harris and Mortensen were born to play siblings. Clearly the resemblance is uncanny. Scary, isn't it?
So finally the Movie Gods have smiled on me. Two of my favorites are together again in Appaloosa. I did the happy dance. You don't understand. Many years ago, I prayed to the Movie Gods to bring together my former all time favorites. All I ever wanted was for Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to star in the same vehicle- and what did I get? Heat. Or as I refer to it, Lukewarm. I waited all those years since The Godfather Pt. II to see these heavyweights share the screen (yes, they are both in that film- but the split chronology doesn't allow for dialogue between them even once) and was left with the worst case of movie blue balls I have ever experienced. I've always argued that it would have been a much tighter film- had the lead roles been reversed. Picture it: Bobby D as the burnt out cop with the whoring wife and Al as the bank robbers' ringleader. They would have nailed it! Instead, I got a lackluster 6 minute exchange between them in a cafe...and it sucked. Why, oh why did the great Movie Gods not consult me first? Since then, their blundering choices of roles in 88 Minutes and Hide & Seek confirms that neither give a fat frog's ass about making quality films anymore. Washed up doesn't begin to describe that pair. I'll eventually catch their latest- Righteous Kill on TBS in a few years. That's right. In this Bug's book, it's not even Netflix-worthy.
It seemed as though my prayers went unheard. I had renounced my faith in the Movie Gods. But then Appaloosa giddy-ups on the scene and I am reborn. A devout believer once again. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen turn out astral performances as Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. I was mesmerized. Harris is vulnerable as he is dangerous. And I never wished I was a doorway until I saw Viggo lean so coolly against one. By the way, it wasn't the innuendo of that big gun Hitch walks around with, either. Well, (Bug blushes...) perhaps that was part of the allure. (Hee-hee). But seriously, there lies a wealth of talent and chemistry between the two. Some say that the Western genre has been milked dry, but here- it works for them immensely. Appaloosa tips its hat to the classics à la Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West, while holding its own in the now. These two are like brothers from another mother onscreen. Their friendship translates as affable but stoic all at once. To me, chemistry is everything. That and a really big gun. Kidding! This is Harris' second tour as director and his growth since Pollock is evident. As usual, oft typecast baddie Jeremy Irons is right at home as everyone's favorite bête noire. The cinematography is impressive. The characters have depth and truthfully, the film could have gone on for another hour and I would have been thrilled. Not even the perpetually scrunchy-faced, wincing-in-pain Renée Zellweger could ruin this one. This Bug gives it two spurs up. See It!
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