The first time I saw this movie, I had that deja vu feeling. I swore up right and center that I had seen it before. I was pretty well calling the next scene before it even happened. Of course, I had never seen it before, it is just that the plot is that generic. Stop me if you heard this before: Hero gets double crossed, hero comes back for revenge, bad guy makes life unnecessarily hard for hero, hero narrowly escapes death by some improbable action, hero prevails and gets the girl.
That's it. No surprise twists, no humorous dialog to carry the characters, nothing. There also is not a whole lot of action in the movie. Not to mention that for such a cookie cut western, the movie was about an hour too long. Much of this can be accredited to the fact it was Brando's first time behind the camera, but to put the blame entirely on him would be unfair. One man (despite being star and director) does not make a movie.
I would like to explain further Lechguilla's comment ""One-Eyed Jacks" is a character study of these two outlaws, one who changes, and the other who only appears to change.": The term "one-eyed jacks," refers to the human nature of being two-faced - with one face on top, the public face or image, and another face that is hidden from public, the private, or real person. To the public, Dad would appear to have repented of his old wicked ways, and turned a new leaf. The people believe him so much so that they even elect him Sheriff. In the privacy of his own home, during the discussions with his wife, we are shown that Dad is still the slimy coward that we are first introduced to at the beginning of the film. In fact, he is so slimy, that he sets Rio up to be executed despite knowing his innocence for the crime that he is accused of. Dad simply wants to remove Rio from the picture before it becomes public knowledge of Dad's betrayal.
It is Rio who actually undergoes the significant change in personality.
I feel initially Rio's plan was to use Louisa as a pawn in his revenge. This is a probable scenario, given Rio's attitude toward Louisa the next morning on the beach. By taking her innocence, he was showing Dad that not only was he coming for revenge, but also that there was no part of Dad's life that was safe. Once Dad realizes this, he is forced to confront Rio head on, which he does in his typical cowardly way. What neither realizes however, was that Rio would fall in love with Louisa and change his ways for her. The 180 in Rio's personality by the end of the movie demonstrates the ability of love to conquer all, and I think that is the underlying theme at play.
To conclude, the movie is slow moving, the plot is generic, but the acting makes it worth watching. 7/10.
That's it. No surprise twists, no humorous dialog to carry the characters, nothing. There also is not a whole lot of action in the movie. Not to mention that for such a cookie cut western, the movie was about an hour too long. Much of this can be accredited to the fact it was Brando's first time behind the camera, but to put the blame entirely on him would be unfair. One man (despite being star and director) does not make a movie.
I would like to explain further Lechguilla's comment ""One-Eyed Jacks" is a character study of these two outlaws, one who changes, and the other who only appears to change.": The term "one-eyed jacks," refers to the human nature of being two-faced - with one face on top, the public face or image, and another face that is hidden from public, the private, or real person. To the public, Dad would appear to have repented of his old wicked ways, and turned a new leaf. The people believe him so much so that they even elect him Sheriff. In the privacy of his own home, during the discussions with his wife, we are shown that Dad is still the slimy coward that we are first introduced to at the beginning of the film. In fact, he is so slimy, that he sets Rio up to be executed despite knowing his innocence for the crime that he is accused of. Dad simply wants to remove Rio from the picture before it becomes public knowledge of Dad's betrayal.
It is Rio who actually undergoes the significant change in personality.
I feel initially Rio's plan was to use Louisa as a pawn in his revenge. This is a probable scenario, given Rio's attitude toward Louisa the next morning on the beach. By taking her innocence, he was showing Dad that not only was he coming for revenge, but also that there was no part of Dad's life that was safe. Once Dad realizes this, he is forced to confront Rio head on, which he does in his typical cowardly way. What neither realizes however, was that Rio would fall in love with Louisa and change his ways for her. The 180 in Rio's personality by the end of the movie demonstrates the ability of love to conquer all, and I think that is the underlying theme at play.
To conclude, the movie is slow moving, the plot is generic, but the acting makes it worth watching. 7/10.