High Plains Drifter

There's a mysterious subplot added in an ill-advised attempt to justify the actions of the characters, but the meat of this movie is a tough answer to an even tougher question: what would happen if somebody made a homicial maniac the boss?

The result is a rare window into the consciousness of someone most of us can likely not relate to. What better way to get into the mind of an inpenetrable character/stereotype than to allow him to make all the decisions? Eastwood's mythical no-name characters don't communicate. Because they never express themselves perhaps we've made the mistaken conclusion that they have nothing to express. With High Plains Drifter Eastwood argues that indeed there is a man behind the myth. The film is flawed, but I believe that without making High Plains Drifter, Eastwood would not have been able to make his ultimate statement on this subject: "Unforgiven."

The stereotype of the drifter is quickly established. In the first ten minutes of the film Eastwood rides in to town on a horse, buys a bottle, kills four men, and rapes a woman. And then, the twist: the town decides to hire him as a sniper/bodyguard to protect against some nasty criminals that are due in town too soon to be avoided. The residents of Lago are so desperate for help that they offer him complete control-he can have anything he wants, and he can do anything he wants. Few would turn down that offer, and certainly not a homicidal rapist.

This is Eastwood's second directorial effort and his first western. In a sly (albeit largely unsuccessful) manner, Eastwood has crafted a western "81/2:" the inmates are running the asylum, and they're letting it all hang out. Just as the drifter has become mayor, so too has the actor become director. The town is literally painted red, and renamed "Hell." I believe Eastwood is poking fun at what many thought might happen if an actor known only for his stock characters tried to create his own film. Most would expect indulgence to replace economy, key-light to replace shadow. Instead, Eastwood makes a brave attempt to dig deeper into the shadows, to find what lurks beneath the stock character that has followed him around for years.

With the exception of the midget (another nod to Fellini?) the supporting characters are not particularly interesting and the script barks when it should bite. However, Eastwood must be commended for a making a brave, provocative film. Incidentally, in the documentary "Out of the Shadows" Clint mentions that John Wayne hated High Plains Drifter, and it's not hard to see why. This film is about as anti-American as they come, which is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much.

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