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Comes A Horseman

© Bob Stenbaugh

Comes A Horseman (1978) Dir: Alan J. Pakula Wr: Dennis Lynton Clark DOP: Gordon Willis

Every film shot by Gordon Willis ("The Godfather," "Manhattan") is worth seeing. The colour images found in this unusual horse opera are flawless, more perfect than if you were breathing in the mountain air yourself.

Much of the picture is shot in the "golden hour," those precious moments during sunrise and sunset when the sky appears as bright as day, yet man-made lights are more powerful to the camera's eye than the sun. The result is pure magic, best displayed in Almendros' "Days of Heaven."

Like "Days of Heaven," the director of "Comes A Horseman" wisely lets the plot take a backseat to the imagery. There are moments to treasure: the late Richard Farnsworth singing a song, and one real knock-out of a scene with Jane Fonda and James Caan eating a meal and reading Shakespeare at the same time. It is a perfect moment, a real writer's triumph (if there is such a thing) in which the characters, in trying to hide themselves, end up revealing and exposing more than they ever would have normally.

Unfortunately, the script is unbalanced and comes to an abrupt halt--giving a subtle film a sledge-hammer ending. An obtrusive soundtrack doesn't help, and the talents of a rather extraordinary cast including Fonda, Caan, Farnsworth, and Jason Robards are ultimately squandered.

Fonda and Farnsworth glow in this film, he with his normal heavenly wisdom, she with her typical brute determination. Farnsworth's recent passing and Fonda's decision to abandon her acting career are devastating blows to a profession thin on true legends.

Note: Watch for a young Mark Harmon in a brief but effective cameo.

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