Tuesday, October 16, 2007

On Trying New Things...er, Genres

I've never been much of a fan of westerns -- either movies or books. But last night, I let a friend talk me into seeing "3:10 to Yuma". Russell Crowe was in it, and I think he's pretty damn sexy. So what the heck. If I hated it, I was only out eight bucks.

Well, I loved it.

The movie worked for me because it wasn't just horses and guns and stagecoach robberies. The core of the movie was the relationship between the two main characters (and the teenage son of one of the characters). The villian, Russell Crowe's character, isn't just a one-note bad guy. He's got layers and reasons for the things he does. He's a bad-ass, but not completely bad. The "good guy" has layers, too -- things he hasn't been completely up-front about (I can't say more 'cause that's a spoiler) -- but his morality is a bit more straightforward. Or perhaps, I should say, it's closer to what we, today, would call morality.

The day job is calling, but I'll come back and expand upon this more later.

Oh, a little trivia about me and horses: I've fallen off two horses. The first time was (mostly) my fault. The second time, the way-too-smart-for-my-good horse did it on purpose; in my defense, though, I was riding bareback - no pad, no stirrups. But I've also ridden a horse in the ocean. Way cool. That makes up for the falling off times.

1 comment:

Teresa Bodwell said...

I thnk this is one of the best movies of 2007. Great cast, and intense story.

Of course, I write Westerns so I love this genre. But so many Westerns just don't have that authentic feel. This movie made me feel like I was there.

Can't wait to buy the DVD!