← Back to Reviews
in
The Grey Fox -
Some people drink while others smoke. Bill Miner robbed stagecoaches. He's the subject of this very good western from Canada, which dramatizes the time he spent in the country. After serving a 33-year prison sentence, Miner reunites with his sister, who lands him a more respectable job of gathering oysters. He quickly realizes he's not cut out for it or for respectable work in general, and since stagecoaches no longer exist, he feels purposeless. Everything changes once he attends a screening of The Great Train Robbery.
This movie works just as well as a classic western as it does a drug addiction tale, with the drug of course being staging robberies since the best drama comes from whether or not Miner will fall off the wagon, no pun intended. The robbery scenes appropriately elicit disappointment more than excitement as a result although they are no less compelling to watch. Farnsworth is excellent for how convincing he is that robbing is all Miner wants to do or perhaps can do. That also goes for how he presents his difficulty in adapting to his very different time and surroundings. Just as memorable is Jackie Burroughs as Kate, a photographer with whom Bill shares a romance. This sequence is one of the sincerest and mature of a couple falling in love I've seen in a long time and provides the most hope that Bill can reform. Sincere and mature are how I would describe the entire production, really, especially since it never relies on sensationalism. While I like to see a good robbery or shootout as much as the next person, I appreciate that the movie respects my intelligence enough to know that the entertainment in Miner's journey first and foremost. Thankfully, it still makes room to highlight the natural beauty of the British Columbian countryside courtesy of Frank Tidy's cinematography along the way. It ends up being a very compelling and substantive portrait of a criminal and of someone who cannot stop doing a certain thing despite having all the reasons in the world not to. Also, as his relationship with Kate and his adorable interaction with a young man indicates, it ably demonstrates that such people cannot easily be pigeonholed as good or evil.
Some people drink while others smoke. Bill Miner robbed stagecoaches. He's the subject of this very good western from Canada, which dramatizes the time he spent in the country. After serving a 33-year prison sentence, Miner reunites with his sister, who lands him a more respectable job of gathering oysters. He quickly realizes he's not cut out for it or for respectable work in general, and since stagecoaches no longer exist, he feels purposeless. Everything changes once he attends a screening of The Great Train Robbery.
This movie works just as well as a classic western as it does a drug addiction tale, with the drug of course being staging robberies since the best drama comes from whether or not Miner will fall off the wagon, no pun intended. The robbery scenes appropriately elicit disappointment more than excitement as a result although they are no less compelling to watch. Farnsworth is excellent for how convincing he is that robbing is all Miner wants to do or perhaps can do. That also goes for how he presents his difficulty in adapting to his very different time and surroundings. Just as memorable is Jackie Burroughs as Kate, a photographer with whom Bill shares a romance. This sequence is one of the sincerest and mature of a couple falling in love I've seen in a long time and provides the most hope that Bill can reform. Sincere and mature are how I would describe the entire production, really, especially since it never relies on sensationalism. While I like to see a good robbery or shootout as much as the next person, I appreciate that the movie respects my intelligence enough to know that the entertainment in Miner's journey first and foremost. Thankfully, it still makes room to highlight the natural beauty of the British Columbian countryside courtesy of Frank Tidy's cinematography along the way. It ends up being a very compelling and substantive portrait of a criminal and of someone who cannot stop doing a certain thing despite having all the reasons in the world not to. Also, as his relationship with Kate and his adorable interaction with a young man indicates, it ably demonstrates that such people cannot easily be pigeonholed as good or evil.