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This review might include some SPOILERS
High Plains Drifter follows a stranger (Clint Eastwood) that is hired by the townsfolk of Lago to protect them from a trio of gunslingers, only to have him uncover deep-seated corruption within the same town. That is part of the reason why he is warned to be careful, that people might be afraid of him. But he knows more about who these people are than most (including the audience) and he knows that's why they are afraid.
I've been hearing good things about this Eastwood western for a while, so it was high on my watchlist. Most of what I heard about it was accurate as the film, Eastwood's second, is technically well made. The direction and cinematography are pretty good, and the story has a lot of effective dread and tension as we try to piece out the puzzle of what's going on, and why the Stranger is doing the things he do.
Unfortunately, some of the things he does include raping two women, something that I wouldn't have a problem with in terms of the story, if it was framed in the proper way. However, Eastwood decides to portray it as "something they had coming", that they "enjoyed anyway", and I had some real issues with that. Even if we take his character as being a ghost, the devil, or fate coming to exert revenge on the town for their past crimes, it just wasn't the right way to frame this.
Putting that aside, I enjoyed the film's slow descent into hell; something that is quite unsubtly portrayed, and how it threads the lines between action, thriller, and horror. There really isn't much difference in Eastwood's performance from, say, The Man with No Name (or most of his early westerns), but I'd say his rough, tough, no-nonsense persona suits this film better than others.
Ultimately, I'm torn in terms of how I feel about this film. Like I said, it's technically well made, the story has a lot of great elements to it, as far as how the town is forced to face the consequences of their actions. However, the way the film treats rape is inexcusable. I'm not against the character doing it, but rather how the direction and script wants to sell it to the audience. So if that's something you might have an issue with, approach with caution.
Grade:
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER
(1973, Eastwood)
(1973, Eastwood)
"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid."
This review might include some SPOILERS
High Plains Drifter follows a stranger (Clint Eastwood) that is hired by the townsfolk of Lago to protect them from a trio of gunslingers, only to have him uncover deep-seated corruption within the same town. That is part of the reason why he is warned to be careful, that people might be afraid of him. But he knows more about who these people are than most (including the audience) and he knows that's why they are afraid.
I've been hearing good things about this Eastwood western for a while, so it was high on my watchlist. Most of what I heard about it was accurate as the film, Eastwood's second, is technically well made. The direction and cinematography are pretty good, and the story has a lot of effective dread and tension as we try to piece out the puzzle of what's going on, and why the Stranger is doing the things he do.
Unfortunately, some of the things he does include raping two women, something that I wouldn't have a problem with in terms of the story, if it was framed in the proper way. However, Eastwood decides to portray it as "something they had coming", that they "enjoyed anyway", and I had some real issues with that. Even if we take his character as being a ghost, the devil, or fate coming to exert revenge on the town for their past crimes, it just wasn't the right way to frame this.
Putting that aside, I enjoyed the film's slow descent into hell; something that is quite unsubtly portrayed, and how it threads the lines between action, thriller, and horror. There really isn't much difference in Eastwood's performance from, say, The Man with No Name (or most of his early westerns), but I'd say his rough, tough, no-nonsense persona suits this film better than others.
Ultimately, I'm torn in terms of how I feel about this film. Like I said, it's technically well made, the story has a lot of great elements to it, as far as how the town is forced to face the consequences of their actions. However, the way the film treats rape is inexcusable. I'm not against the character doing it, but rather how the direction and script wants to sell it to the audience. So if that's something you might have an issue with, approach with caution.
Grade: