ongoing

 We had one really wonderful night at the opening of the Boston Film Festival not long ago. The western, "Appaloosa," starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, and Renee Zellweger, co-written by Harris and Robert Knott. It's based on a Robert Parker novel, and Parker was in the room to receive an award and was wonderfully warm and witty afterwards duing the Q/A, as was Knott. We later repaired to the post-screening party at Umbria, where we sipped martinis and exchanged filmic stuff with Knott. For, like, an hour. We weren't out with a notebook; he wasn't talking press talk. It was just a group of four us, all who enjoyed movies, knew something about them, exchanging opinions. He told us about how few cuts there were in "Appaloosa," a thought we hadn't realized right away, but was so apparent in retrospect. Indeed, "Appaloosa" didn't move like a modern movie. It moved like a John Ford western. It wasn't trying to impress with trickery or camera angles. It focused on the relationship between Harris and Mortenson (incoming town sheriff and deputy, respectively) who were there to clean up the mess made of the town by Jeremy Irons gang. Knott was talking, too, about the importance of what Harris and Mortensen said. Parnters for years, they shared a common, unspoken language, and, when they spoke, sometimes shared little jokes - just like we do these days. That was one of Knott's beefs about period movies. The screenwriters never assume a sense of humor like ours drives the characters. So "Appaloosa" is as much a character study as it is a blood-n-guts shoot-'em-up, though certainly weapons are fired and people die. There's a lurking mystery about Zellweger's character. A widower, she's come to town to do ... what exactly? Mainly, to protect herself in a wild world, but what of her tactics and choices?
The movie starts with a band. Irons and his men are confronted at their ranch by the soon-to-be-shot sheriff and his men - go big giveaway here, it happens quick - and it's a real leap into the movie. We go, huh? Who are these people and why is this happening? Knott said they shot a 19-minute opening that set it up, then, realized in test screenings, that this delayed the main action too long. So what if the audience is thrown in the deep end without prior knowledge? We'll learn. Harris is wonderful in his confidence and restraint; ditto for Viggo. This movie falls into "The Unforgiven" category. It's not exactly a re-visionist western, but it's got a true grit to it (no pun intended) that doesn't depend on cheap tricks. There's tension, drama, a few laughs. It's a compelling film, that does Parker proud - very few words or scenes were changed - and brings you into a distant world we think we know so well. Tickets: $10-ish. Times and places? Check website below.

www.boston.mrmovies.com