High Plains Drifter

Dir: Clint Eastwood

1973

***

I love a good western but I do understand people who say they don't. Westerns, and especially Clint Eastwood westerns, are pretty much all the same in story and style. In 1973's High Plains Drifter, Eastwood once more plays the man with no name, not the same man with no name as seen in A Fist Full of Dollars and its sequels, but a totally different man with no name, indeed, this one actually has a name, although it isn't revealed until the end. High Plains Drifter is pretty much the same deal as nearly every other western except it has a very unique twist towards the end. I'm not sure if this twist makes it any better than all the other westerns but it certainly makes it one of the more memorable entries. For me it is a film of two halves. You have the set up and the conclusion. The setup is brilliant, Clint roles into town, gets into trouble with some locals bad guys, shots said bad guys and becomes both feared and revered by the townsfolk who promise him anything he wants just as long as he agrees to stick around for a bit and see off a trio of villain who are due out of prison and back in town for a slice of revenge within the next couple of days. Clint agrees, makes the town midget mayor and sheriff and lives like a king for a bit while also ordering the people to practice their shooting and paint every building in their town red for a reason that is never actually explained. It's nicely shot, the performances are good and there is a wonderful mood about it. Then comes the second half of the film and it suddenly all becomes a bit dull and predictable. The set up becomes somewhat redundant as nothing done before this point has any real relevance to the film's conclusion. Standard western then. I'll watch films like this all day long, there is plenty to enjoy and there is something comforting about them. Typically of an Eastwood film it isn't without a controversial scene, this time it involves a rape. It's handled very badly and damages the film somewhat but it wouldn't be an Eastwood film without at least one offensive and misguided incident.