Hollywood doesn’t like Westerns. They keep trying to make
them into something else. If a traditional Western is a success, like Unforgiven, critics tag it as an
anti-western. The Chicago Tribune said
of Unforgiven, “This dark, melancholic film is a reminder -- never more
necessary than now -- of what the American cinema is capable of, in the way of
expressing a mature, morally complex and challenging view of the world.” As if
a Western never plumbed the depths of depravity before.
Last night my wife and I went to see The Magnificent
Seven, the remake. It’s a good movie. I thought the climatic gun battle was over the
top, but that’s what audiences expect nowadays. Also the storyline was more implausible
than the original. A roving band of bandits in the age of Poncho Villa raiding
villages for food is far more believable than a mine owner killing random farmers to acquire land that hasn’t proved to be lodes of precious metal. But, hey, this
is entertainment. Suspension of belief is de rigor.
An NPR
review said of the movie, “it's not a revisionist western. Nor is it an
anti-western. It's a western.” The reviewer, Chris Klimek, did not necessarily mean
that as a compliment. I say, thank goodness. It’s about time Hollywood got back
to good storytelling. Modern Hollywood often gets itself wrapped up messaging. Storytelling
is an art that requires a meaningful plot, engaging characters, proper pacing,
and craftsmanship. When they made the The
Magnificent Seven, they set out to
make an entertaining film, not a statement. Great stories can make statements, but
they must be subtle enough to not jar the reader/viewer out of the story. Philip
Pullman once said, “Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time
lasts forever.” The Magnificent Seven
did include a message about inclusiveness, but never did that theme interrupt the
flow of the story.
I liked the movie, and my wife liked it as well. The film
did $41.4 million on its opening weekend, which bodes well that box office receipts
will be high enough to encourage more of the same.