Cinema: The Tame West

COMES A HORSEMAN Directed by Alan J. Pakula Screenplay by Dennis Lynton Clark

A lot of talented people have worked very hard on Comes a Horseman. They may have worked a bit too hard. A liberal-minded western set in 1940s Montana, the film has been so carefully thought out that it seems cut and dried. There are fine performances, picturesque settings and noble sentiments on display, but there are no emotional or intellectual mysteries to hook the audience's imagination. Every level of the movie's meaning can be found right on its surface. Since that surface is only rarely bestirred by...