Plot Summary - There's trouble brewing in the old west town of Appaloosa, New Mexico where a rancher/bad man named Bragg (Jeremy Irons) and his pack of desperadoes keep ridin' into town and taking "advantage" (harassing women, buying food and goods without paying, peeing on the saloon floor, shooting people, you know). Two expert gun men /pal-lookalikes get hired by the town as peacekeepers - as new city Marshal and deputy, Virgil (Ed Harris) and Everett (Viggo Mortensen) are given a free hand at taking over and setting the laws of the town. When a young cowpoke comes to town and points the finger at Bragg as the murderer of a former town marshal, Bragg is thrown in jail, then put on trial - but our marshal and deputy have quite a bit of trouble in their efforts to get this guy tried, convicted, and hopefully hung. The marshal also gets a bit sidetracked by new gal in town, widow Mrs. French (Renee Zellweger), who makes a play for him - and other men too.
Review - Set in 1882, this atmospheric, character-driven western really sets a time and mood in it's old west town setting, where wind blows the dust off the dirt main street through town, cowboys on horseback roam, and lawmen and lawbreakers confront each other in the streets and saloon at gunpoint. The film is really done in the style of an old-fashioned, classic western. The story was entertaining, the film went by real fast - it did seem like a story that had a lot more to say, and it is made from a novel so I guess that's true - I really would have liked this one to be about an hour longer to really put a bit more meat into the relationships between the characters. Jeremy Irons is real good in this, as usual (yes, I'm a fan). I am a sucker for a good western - I liked this a lot. Rating - 9/10 stars
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