The Long Riders

Pauline Kael loved this movie, which I suppose was my main motivation for picking it up. The gimmicky casting of real-life brothers Keach, Carradine, and Quaid as brothers on screen gives the picture a Movie-of-the-Week feel before it even starts. The story is the demise of Jesse James, but the movie spends most of its energy on Cole Younger and his love affair with Belle Starr.

David Carradine and Pamela Reed steal the show as Cole and Belle, a pair too similar to ever understand each other. Reed fills each frame with fierce attitude and genuine star power. I don't know why her celluloid career floundered the way it did, but it certainly was not for lack of ability. (Trivia note: she's the voice of Marge Simpson's neighbour that convinces her to set off on a Thelma & Louise-ish adventure).

David Carradine on the other hand has been mired in B-Movie, direct-to-video hell for over twenty years. He delivers the performance of his career in The Long Riders, reminiscent of the genius of another under-appreciated thespian, Warren Oates. I suppose these days Carradine is satisfied with a regular paycheck, and who am I to argue? I hope one day he sinks his teeth into another meaty role.

The Long Riders is one of these movies where everyone dies in slow-motion. Like a poor man's Peckinpah, Walter Hill seems utterly fascinated by showing us in vivid detail what happens to the human body when a chunk of lead gets hurled toward it at tremendous speed. The slow motion is on occasion rather stunning, including a scene in which two horses bound through a building using closed windows as both an entrance and an exit. However, an effect loses its impact with overkill, and art becomes pulp in a big hurry.

I will recommend The Long Riders, only because it is a perfect length (that is to say, not very) and the scenes with Carradine and Reed are full of movie magic. When Kael raved about the film she kept referring to memories from her childhood, watching action-filled serials and eating popcorn. My childhood memories of action movies and popcorn include people named Indiana Jones and Han Solo, so I guess it's safe to say we're coming from a different place.

Kael suggested that The Long Riders would "not be forgotten." She was wrong, but the sentiment was a good one. For my two-cents, here's hoping Pamela Reed is not forgotten.

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