TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Open Range Script Review
"Howdy folks, your friendly neighborhood webmaster cuddled up recently with a copy of the script Open Range. The script is by Craig Storper and dated March 2002. The film will be directed by and star Kevin Costner (We'll discuss that little detail later.), Robert Duvall and Annette Benning.
Open Range is set somewhere in the western United States in the year 1882. We follow a quartet of men leading a herd of cattle. They aren't ranchers though. These men are known as freegrazers. According to the script, in those days, the land was mostly unowned and free to use. So rather than set up a farm or ranch for cattle, freegrazers would lead a nomadic lifestyle, wandering around with their herd, stopping in a town only occasionally to trade. This particular batch consists of Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall), his right-hand man Charley Waite (Kevin Costner), and two hands Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna). The story picks up with them at work. This early part of the script is excellent as the characters are introduced and developed through action rather than words. After a few scenes we have four well rounded and likable characters. The script also does a great job of bringing this lifestyle alive. I knew nothing of freegrazing prior to reading the script but it quickly had me fascinated. The imagery is vivid. A good cinematographer could have a field day with this script.
The action kicks off when they send Mose to the nearest town for supplies. When he doesn't return, Boss and Charley go after him. They find him in jail, beaten half to death. He is charged with disturbing the peace. Apparently he was settling up at the general store when he was set upon by some locals. Mose is huge and thumps the men but ends up getting sucker punched by the sheriff. Boss and Charley quickly discover that the sheriff is little more than the head thug for the big rancher in town, Baxter. He lets them know that freegrazers aren't welcome here in a open threat. That conflict echoes history where freegrazers were and long cattle drives were common until the development of barbed wire allowed ranchers to define and protect their property. Prior to that was the true wild west, an era where justice was usually a personal matter, handed out by a man and his six shooter. The script excels at bringing this alive, giving a really palpable sensation for the immensity of the plains and the loneliness of those who worked it.
The remainder of the story revolves around the conflict between the freegrazers and Baxter. It pulls at all the locals, who find themselves caught between a desire for justice and supporting the local businessman. That means that people die and there are serious consequences for that. In that aspect, the script brings to mind Unforgiven, which explored similar themes of killing another human and what that does to a person's mental state. Of course, that film handled it in considerable more depth. Open Range attempts to find that depth of thought on the subject but gets a bit sidetracked by a more typical Hollywood approach to the subject. Right there we have my biggest problem with this script. For the most part I found it excellent but as it moves along there is a tendency to take shortcuts for the sake of easy resolution, rather than taking a more difficult thoughtful route. The script wants to look at what it means to kill a man and what price that exacts on your soul. But the problem comes when it can't seem to find the line between justice and vengeance. I don't have a problem with a movie that leaves it to the viewer to come to their own conclusions on a topic but this one preaches too much to take that approach. We're given that all too common scenario where good guy A tells good guy B that he can't kill villain C because that would reduce good guy B to the level of villain C. Maybe if this film had set it's artistic sites lower, I could overlook that but it does far too good a job of setting the table and introducing the characters to wimp out at the end. Reportedly filming started in June, so hopefully there was enough time to rework the ending to something more deserving of the rest of the script.
I said the characters were well developed but there is one exception, the rancher Baxter. He is initially introduced with logical motivation for his actions. But he then disappears for much of the script and when he reappears, he has become a cartoon. From that point on he is a blood thirsty brute who wants nothing but the death of the freegrazers. He became too simplistic and thus hard to accept. Some additional shading of this character would improve the ending considerably.
Now, it's almost impossible to discuss this script without mentioning Costner's level of involvement with it's production. Costner's direction of films has been hit and miss. He was highly praised for Dances with Wolves but highly derided for The Postman and Waterworld. More importantly though is his acting. At one point he was a highly sought A list actor but now struggles to open films. Why is that? He is a good actor but one that needs to find suitable material. He plays certain roles well while others hang on him like a bad suit. He has shown a taste for iconic figures and those are usually the ones he struggles with (Waterworld, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 3,000 Miles to Graceland and The Postman). Those characters tend to be egotistical choices that tend to rub viewers the wrong way. Meanwhile characters with a strong moral code, a willingness to fight and a personality somewhat off center work well for him (Bull Durham, Tin Cup and Field of Dreams). So the question is, which one of these roles is Charley Waite? I'd have to say he's closer to the second type, which bodes well for the film.
Westerns have become a real rarity at the box office in recent years. Mostly I haven't been a fan of them but a thoughtful one that examines the historical period in a realistic manner is the kind I make time for. So call me cautiously optimistic that Open Range could hit theaters as just such a film."
(Review submitted by John Shea.)
Stay tuned...
That's all folks...
Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)
Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org
Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.
