Wild Horses (2015)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Fresh and Exciting

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Not much to be said about this film, though concerning the lives of a Texas Ranger involving ranches and features horses. One would know what this film is about from the trailers and overall tones. The film is a slow paced drama which are good at times but the directing, writing and acting aren't too great. The best scenes involve those with Robert Duvall and James Franco together, while the worst (and a lot of screen time) involves the Ranger character of Sam. The acting here was clear she wasn't much of an actress with her tone and delivery (Her accent was noticeable). She was miscast and her scenes dragged the film down. Also poor acting from the Hispanic mother asking about her son, and a few of the thugs. The climax and overall 'reveal' of the film was very weak, as it just so happens and was dumb. The little subplots with the Maria character didn't really lead anywhere. Also with Josh Harnett's character and his wife, nothing amounted. As he wasn't used as much in the film as we thought we would be. The bright spots as mentioned were the performances of Duvall and Franco, and some nice scenes of the scenery. Wild Horses is a forgettable slow drama.

As a genuine movie enthusiast, I can usually find something worthwhile in a movie... maybe it's an intriguing premise, even if it hasn't been at all well realised... maybe good performances elevate a hackneyed script... maybe there's great cinematography, if nothing else. But Wild Horses defies you to engage with it at every turn. It utterly fails to deliver as the psychological thriller it seems to aspire to be. The script offers no surprises or delights. The pace is so sluggish it often seems more like a rough cut than a finished film. And the female lead - Mrs Duval - gives the most amateurish performance seen in a Hollywood release in some decades. Mr Duval does his usual taciturn schtick to absolutely zero effect. And only James Franco seems to be investing his role with some genuine emotion and enthusiasm - perhaps in the misguided belief that it might be worth the effort. The up side to the boredom that the film generates is that you won't care when it fails to deliver any kind of satisfying ending. Best avoided.

Robert Duvall directs this story of a rancher coming to grips with story of his life, and the debts he owes to his family and the people he has wronged. It comes with a cast of incredibly well-known and unknown actors. The cohesion of this ensemble's performance is one of the best examples of well-balanced acting that I have seen in a long time. Every brief conversation and every scene had a treasure of detail and story, and each player does their part beautifully. After looking around online I became more than a little tired of the shallow and ludicrously hostile reviews that seem to follow this film across the internet. Thankfully, deeply stupid reviews cannot diminish the quality of this film because those reviews have no legitimate basis for their criticism. No performance that tries to deal so honestly with its audience gets away with it. There are just too many people looking for that saturated over-the-rainbow technicolor dream. This film unfolds in such a deceptively raw style that many people seem to have failed to grasp what a focused and skilled a piece of storytelling is right in front of them. There's quite a bit in this film that makes people uncomfortable. There are serious issues- about the border, about lies, about loss, about discrimination, and the heaven and hell of family ties. And the actors just come right at it all. Not one character is reduced to a silent chew spitting silhouette of cowboy or cowgirl. I believe that the more you tell the truth to yourself and others, the more you will able to see when people are being honest with you. I liked this film, and I am glad it was made. And I thank everyone involved in making it.

I'm glad that I scrolled down far enough to read Tony Heck's review. Was expecting something laughable, judging by the majority of comments but I knew that wouldn't be the case with a legend in the driving seat. Many harsh comments about his wife's acting. She was very natural/believable. I really enjoyed this film. A very decent story about a proud man of his time finally coming to terms with himself. And doing the 'right thing' (albeit at the end. I hope that that Mr. Duvall can churn out a few more films like this. He's in great shape for a man of his age and I doubt that he'd require any mounting aide in real life. Lovely touch with the cell phone in the opening scene and some wonderful shots of Texas. Must put it on my bucket list of places to see. Slainte