Low key to say the least, this Frank Perry film debunks the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday/Clanton Bros. myth by removing any trace of romanticism or heroism. The characters in this movie are full of regret, fear and, particularly in Holliday's case, a real sense of melancholia. As Doc Holliday, Stacy Keach gives an exceptional performance, underplaying throughout. He's matched by Harris Yulin as an unlikely Earp. There's great chemistry here. Faye Dunaway is Kate Elder, a prostitute (minus even a hint of a heart of gold) who finds herself, if not in love with Holliday, at least hitching her hopes of a better life to him. This is a film with very little hope and director Perry creates a real sense of sadness these desperate characters must have felt. The extremely rich screenplay is by Pete Hamill and the supporting cast includes Penelope Allen as Earp's wife, Michael Witney as a particularly nasty Ike Clanton and Denver John Collins as Clanton's nephew, a not so bright bulb who hero worships Holliday. Sassy Antonia Rey has a cameo as Concha. A great anti-western.
Review of 'Doc'
