Runtime: 105 minutes
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Mitchell Ryan, Jack Ging
From: Universal
Well, this was a grim Western… I know multiple people have used that term but it is apt. Before it leaves Netflix at the end of the month, I had to check this out, and that was a wise decision.
Clint Eastwood directed his second film and starred as Stranger, a cowboy who rolls into the corrupt mining town of Lago and besides his menacing presence, the town’s cowardly past has them afraid of strangers in general. An old town marshal was murdered, and think Kitty Genovese with the bystanders… no, really, that was the inspiration for this story. Stranger basically trolls these pathetic people after they hire him to protect them from those murderers returning to town.
Stranger is not a hero. Sure, he treats the town’s Hispanics, Native Americans and the subjugated dwarf well, but as for the women… sexual assault occurs, including the one decent white woman, to put it bluntly. That was regrettable but otherwise I can’t complain about this rather dark tale that possesses some even darker humor. Nihilistic, this was. Most of the characters are various degrees of loathsome, including the protagonist. That may be a turn-off with some; me, it (mostly) worked with this supernatural-flavored tale. How exactly this is supernatural—that won’t be spoiled for those that haven’t viewed High Plains Drifter yet, except that there are different interpretations as to the true nature of Stranger-that was deliberate on Eastwood’s part.
The film was lovingly shot by Bruce Surtees in rural California, right by Mono Lake. This and the haunting eerie score from Dee Barton buttressed the vibes and mood. I was gripped by the story—bad things happening to bad people can be great in a schadenfreude sort of way. For my tastes, High Plains Drifter not being unrelentingly grim to the point of being miserable was a big asset in my enjoyment. Out of all the Eastwood movies the Beastie Boys could have used to title that song on their seminal Paul’s Boutique album, they chose this…
To mention a more relevant detail, those that like the pitch-black Euro-westerns, Drifter is a must.
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