Post by Eddie Love on Dec 10, 2010 11:19:01 GMT -5
Now that the film world has come to their collective senses and publically acknowledged with some Oscar love that one of the best actors in American film is Jeff Bridges, and that he has been for decades, people should take the opportunity to re-visit some of his great work over the past 40 years. Even when the movie in question falls short, Bridges never does. As is the case with WILD BILL, an ambitious Walter Hill Western from 1995 that sets out to provide a textured, dramatic tapestry depicting the gun-slinging legend Wild Bill Hickok. While Hill only partly succeeds, Bridges certainly does.
The film opens with a series of quick episodes from the life and legend of Wild Bill, each more violent than the last. These scenes, and much of Hill’s film, is very presentational, a little flat, and doesn’t feel especially cinematic. The opening vignettes, however, are at least entertaining and frankly not all of what follows is, as Wild Bill’s last days in Deadwood are enacted and he comes up against the wronged son of a former flame who may be his own offspring.
At the heart of the film is Bridges' portrait of Hickok, and he clearly relishes the sobriquet “Wild”. In the opening scenes he shows the man as a killer, and a savage one at that. But the balance of the film is taken up with an older Wild Bill coming to terms with his past, often in a fog of Chinatown opium. Bridges has always been adept at suggesting characters we can see are really thinking. Here he does so with a portrait of a man not much used to introspection, and his struggle with his past and conscious is compelling and the best part of the film. Also, Bridges’ look and manner are simply perfect and convey the period and hard life of this proud, blustering, but still reticent man.
The film features an impressive cast and there’s good work from James Remar, James Gammon, Christina Applegate, John Hurt, Bruce Dern and Diane Lane – at her absolute loveliest. Unfortunately, many others in the cast overdo the twang and the accent work, particularly the aggressively charm-less David Arquette in an early role as the aggrieved young man looking to face down Wild Bill. Ellen Barkin plays Bill's companion Calamity Jane and she’s also way over-the-top, if more likably energetic. She seems to be channeling Holly Hunter at times and, playing the notoriously hard-bitten frontier woman, she’s entirely too attractive. Still, she has one terrific scene with Bridges that culminates in their rekindling a bygone passion that’s nicely played. However, the final scenes have too much of her running around braying.
Fans of the HBO series DEADWOOD, that Hill had a hand in producing, may find this film’s portrait of the boomtown tame by comparison. (They should also note that Keith Carradine, who played a marvelous turn as Wild Bill in that show, plays Buffalo Bill here.) The film though is oddly garish and lacks much atmosphere. The interior saloon scenes seem overly lit and even exterior streets scenes often feel like they were shot on a soundstage.
As great as Bridges is, WILD BILL is frustratingly uneven movie. Indeed, some scenes towards the end border on being simply dull. There are also long scenes of washed out black and white opium inspired flashbacks, that are suitably effective, but only fitfully involving. The film is derived from two separate source works, a novel by Pete Dexter and a play by Thomas Babe. I expect the long scenes towards the end of the film come from the play. Unfortunately, the scenes of Arquette summoning the will to shoot Wild Bill take up nearly as much screen time as Bridges himself, and in the converse of their final confrontation, it’s not a fair showdown by any measure.
If you’ve never seen WILD BILL Bridges and some energetic saloon flavor make it worth viewing. Though it’s unlikely to become one of the perennials from the star or director’s filmographies, as always Bridges delivers.
