"Open Range" is a very slow movie. I mention this upfront in case you are the type who won't watch a slow and deliberately paced film. But, and this is important, the film is pretty amazing.

The plot is one that is rather familiar to old B-westerns. There's a local rancher who controls everyone and when a cattle drive comes by HIS town, he sets out to destroy the cowboys and steal their livestock. The surviving members of the party (Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner) are naturally angry...and the local sheriff is bought and paid for by the evil boss. So what are these two proud, wronged men to do?

This movie works very well for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is that the acting is just superb...top notch. On top of this, the cinematography, music and setting all work to make a terrific movie...one that works very well if you give it a chance.

Some people say the western is dead, but I disagree; once in a while a good one comes along and shakes up people's opinions and generally impresses everybody. The last time was UNFORGIVEN, now it's Costner's OPEN RANGE, which is not up to the level of Eastwood's movie but is still generally pretty good. The biggest problem is the pacing, which is quite slow, but then for somebody who sat through THE POSTMAN, it seemed to go by pretty quick. Not much to say about this really, other than the scenery, the camera-work, and the music are all excellent, and the subdued acting from the cast is fine – with the exception of villain Michael Gambon, who is anything but subdued when he chews the scenery. I still ended up feeling sorry for him though. Costner is definitely on the back-burner here, giving all the major dramatics to buddy Robert Duvall, who is doing very well for a guy who must be about 110 by now. Then again he always looked old.

I usually hate Annette Bening but she was excellent here as the love interest, whilst Abraham Benrubi has a small but pivotal role as a fellow cow poke and makes it really sympathetic. The script is intelligent and, although adding nothing new to the genre – at the heart this is a simple revenge story – keeps you interested throughout. Things (eventually) pick up for the hair-raising shoot-out at the end, which makes very good use indeed of loud gunshots and surprising stunts, so is definitely worth waiting for. All in all a good, solid addition to the genre.

Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) leads Charley Waite (Kevin Costner),Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna) to drive their cattle across free grazing open range. They go into the town of Harmonville and are confronted by corrupt sheriff Poole and land baron Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) who hates free grazers. Mose was severely beaten and arrested. Boss and Charley bring him to Dr. Barlow (Dean McDermott). Boss finds a kind soul in the doctor's wife Sue Barlow (Annette Bening).

This is an old-fashion western with a great open landscape and a compelling performance from Duvall. The plot meanders a bit going from romantic melodrama to brutal violence. The violence is brutal and realistic. I think shortening the over two hour running time would help increase the intensity.