This is How Movies Should Be Made

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, pale rider is a must-see for fans of the western genre. Clint Eastwood portrays the enigmatic preacher; a strong/silent type that we've become so accustomed to. Frankly, Eastwood carries this movie as his gunlinging preacher steals every scene. Unfortunately this movie is not without its faults. The movie supporting cast weigh this movie down in a lot of scenes. The characters of mother and daughter, Sarah and Megan were unbearably annoying and made some scenes quite awkward. The villains of lehood and stockburn are quite forgettable but service the plot enough to make it work. Overall this is a cool western with a great story and a faultless performance from Eastwood.

After the engrossing 'Unforgiven', I went to this movie. Maybe that is the reason I was not much impressed by it. I even believe that the movie is overrated.The script is stereotypical but somehow seems lame to the other Western ones ! Well, the Christian concept of 'Pale Rider' is intriguing(destroying an 'evil empire' by sword, pestilence, famine and wild beasts) but there was no need for the central character to wear a clerical collar, then people take him as a 'Preacher' and the audience is expected to connect him to the biblical 'Pale Rider'. It seems a trick unworthy of noticing but dilutes the intention. Megan reading the Psalm(or verses, I am naive at the term) would have been sufficient.Eastwood, as always, has given full justice to the character - the sangfroid when meeting the goons, LaHood and even while eliminating the deputies. The demon underneath seems to arise only twice in his eyes which Eastwood should be given a notable credit ! Except the 'Preacher', Hull Barret is the only character that leaves some impression - he is a common, vulnerable man but still does his best for the family and the folks. The Stockburn's character seems like a last-moment patch implemented in a software to save the script. Fails to impress even for a second as a villain. Better than him is LaHood who at least in some scenes appears to be a professional mining mafia/don.Frankly, I didn't even notice any background score - that itself speaks of it's lameness :P . Since the script revolves around the camp, the mine and the town, one is deprived of the typical Western panoramas, the horse riders amidst terrain and so on. The town too appears modern and synthesized, lacks the dull and the creaky yet appealing look of a troubled Western stereotypical town.To summarize, one should watch the movie only for a glimpse of the vintage 'Western Eastwood', any more expectations can result in disappointment. Yes, the movie has rekindled my old interest in 'Apocalypticism' :) .

"Pale Rider" opens up with a beautiful shot of pointy mountains looming behind a lush fir forest which again form the background to dusty plains. Aross this beautiful landscape we see a pack of riders, whipping their horses into a frenzy as they cut through the scenery. Then we cut to an idyllic looking encampment where we see gold prospectors and their families going about their business, a goat here, a dog playfully licking a man's face there... For some time we keep cutting between these two images and we just know that something bad is going to happen. Tension is building slowly until the riders are unleashed upon their victims and make quite the mess. They even shoot a cow and a dog. The dog, we learn, belongs to Megan Wheeler, played by a very young Sydney Penny (Bernadette, 1988) in a wonderful performance. It is her loss and the subsequent burial of the dog which triggers the entrance of the Preacher, through some suggested divine intervention. Clint Eastwood (Heartbreak Ridge, 1986) arrives as an ominous silhouette at first, on the heels of rumbling thunder and shots of rugged mountains, and ending up framed in the doorway of the Wheelers' as Megan finishes her bible reading with the quote: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was Death." As we learn later, the assault was part of a tactic by the shrewd villain, Coy LaHood, played by Richard Dysart (The Thing, 1982), to drive the prospectors off the land so he can get his hands on the gold which is hidden away in their creek, and Preacher is a man of God coming to lift their spirits and lend a hand. Literary, his introduction to Hull Barret, played by Michael Moriarty (The Stuff, 1985) is in the form of a brawl with LaHood's henchmen where he dispatches divine justice through the conduit of a bat. Eastwood lends heavily on Sergio Leone's archetype: the man with no name, which he himself played to perfection in the 60s, but adds even more mystique to his character through all the religious implications and the semblance of a revenge motif from some mysterious past. Few, if any, can play the tough loner with the icy stare as well as Eastwood, and this character is no exception. Anyone crossing his path with ill intentions are met with silent intimidation of the kind that makes them quickly holster their guns and run away. The movie is not all brawn and myth-making though, the central family trio of prospectors, also including Sarah Wheeler, played by Carrie Snodgress (Murphy's Law, 1986), is the beating heart of the movie. All the performances are top notch. Every word spoken is done so with the utmost conviction and true to character. How Moriarty can churn out such a subtle and dramatically solid performance considering the rest of his 80s catalog (Q, The Stuff, Troll, It's Alive III...) is astonishing. There is some early hints that the young daughter is taking a romantic interest in Preacher, and when words about this is exchanged between the two, it seems certain that few screenplays can match the elegance at which it is handled.For anyone fond of westerns, this is a sure bet for a good time. Some might complain that the overall framework of the plot is formulaic, and if you don't like westerns this will probably not turn you around, but the quality in execution of writing, directing and acting are all top notch. This is a visual movie where the action, the framing of the shots and the gorgeous landscapes dominate the feel and atmosphere of the movie. It is also a movie with excellent use of music and sound, which always help in creating more tension or fleshing out the scenery. The movie is not especially realistic as there are a few logical flaws here and there, but most can be shrugged off as stylistic choices. Sure, it seems strange that one character would reach his destination faster on foot than another character on a horse cart with a head start, or awfully dumb when the main villain stands out in the middle of the street without cover while his men is combing the streets after a hidden and armed Preacher, but his defiance of a sudden death by lead just makes him look even more bad ass, and a worthy opponent for our mythical hero. The 80s were not a happy place for aficionados of the western, but this little gem almost makes up for it.

Enjoyable, would watch again, and again next time it comes on TV.Club is an interesting character - doesn't say much, looks mean and intimidating, yet I can't recall any scene where he actually threatens anyone, other than demonstrating his strength by splitting the boulder. This results in Hull later finding the nugget.Then when Megan is being assaulted by Josh, Club wades in looking like he intends to pull Josh away (and possibly beat the living you-know-what out of him). The Preacher arrives before he can protect Megan, but Club's intent is clear. Club is the evil-looking bad guy who really is not; I think the story is trying to show that the Preacher had an influence on him as well.