Open Range
Encyclopedia
Open Range is a 2003 American Western
film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner
, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine
. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall
, Annette Bening
, and Michael Gambon
.
The film received mostly positive reviews, and was a modest success at the box office, making about $58 million in the U.S. alone.
in 1882 (the year is seen on a new grave marker) though the movie was filmed entirely on location in Alberta
, Canada
.
The background of the movie concerns the "range wars" that occurred in the American West in the late 19th century. The "wars" pitted those that believed in the "Law of the Open Range" — free access to water and grass for everyone, against the "barbed wire
" men — land barons, who used the new fencing to define their empire and block the free-range cattlemen from moving their herds.
) is a free-range cattleman, who, with hired hands Charley Waite (Kevin Costner
), Mose (Abraham Benrubi
), Button (Diego Luna
), and dog Tig are driving a herd cross country. Charley is a former soldier
who fought in the Civil War
and feels guilty over his past as a killer.
Boss sends Mose to the nearby town of Harmonville for supplies. The town is controlled by a ruthless Irish
immigrant land baron, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon
), who hates free-rangers and treats the inhabitants like trash . Mose is badly beaten and then jailed by the town marshal, Poole (James Russo
), whom Baxter "owns." Many townspeople accept that Baxter is all-powerful and corrupt while others harbor animosity towards him. The only friendly inhabitant they meet is Percy (Michael Jeter
), a livery stable owner.
Boss and Charley become concerned when Mose doesn't return. They retrieve him from jail
but not before getting a stern warning from Baxter about free-ranging on his land. Mose's injuries are so severe that Boss and Charley take him to Doc Barlow (Dean McDermott
). There they meet Susan Barlow (Annette Bening
). Charley is attracted immediately, but assumes that Susan is the doctor's wife.
It turns out that Baxter does not really want Boss to move on; he wants the herd. After catching masked riders scouting their cattle, Boss and Charley sneak up on their campfire in the dark of night. Baxter's henchmen are forced to strip and are sent back to town on foot. Another ambush, however, happening at the same time, results in the killing of Mose and the dog Tig. Button is badly injured and left for dead.
Charley and Boss vow to avenge this injustice. They leave Button at the doctor's house and go into town, where during a flash flood Charley saves a townsperson's dog. Boss and Charley are threatened by Poole but refuse to back down. Shortly thereafter, they lock Poole in his own jail. Boss knocks him out with chloroform he has stolen from the doctor's office. Other henchmen meet the same fate; they are locked up in Poole's cells and knocked out with the drug.
Charley and Boss psychologically prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. Charley learns that Sue is the doctor's sister, not his wife. Charley declares his feelings for her (at Boss's urging) and she gives him a locket for luck. In the town store, knowing that a bloody confrontation with Baxter is inevitable, Boss and Charley buy expensive cigars and chocolate, reasoning that they might be unable to enjoy these later. Charley leaves a note with Percy, the livery stable owner, in which he states that if he should die, money made from the sale of his saddle and gear are to be used to buy Sue a new tea set.
Outmanned in a gunfight, Boss and Charley are pitted against Baxter and his many henchmen. Charley doesn't wait to be drawn upon first, and shoots Butler (Kim Coates
), the gunman who shot Button and killed Mose. The gunfight erupts and Boss is wounded. Some of Baxter's men flee as Charley guns them down one by one — Charley even manages to shoot Baxter himself early in the fight.
Rallied by Percy, the townspeople begin to openly fight against Baxter. Even the wounded Button stumbles out of his recovery bed in the doctor's house to fight with his friends. Baxter endangers innocent women and children to save himself after an intense firefight outside the jailhouse his henchmen all dead Baxter ends up wounded and alone, trapped in the jailhouse. Boss rushes the jail, mortally wounding Baxter. Boss stops just short of killing Baxter, stating that he wouldn't waste a bullet to ease Baxter's pain.
With the battle over, Charley witnesses the casualties: dead bodies, shaken innocent bystanders, and destroyed property. He speaks to Sue in private, telling her he must leave all this behind. She counters that she has a "big idea" about their future together and that she would wait for him to return.
Charley does return, proposing marriage to Sue. They embrace and kiss. Charley and Boss decide to give up the cattle business and settle down in Harmonville, taking over the saloon, whose owner (Baxter) was killed in the gunfight.
. Roger Ebert
gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "... an imperfect but deeply involving and beautifully made Western ..." Peter Bradshaw
of the The Guardian
gave the film 4 stars out of 5, writing, "Duvall gives his best performance in ages" in a "... tough, muscular, satisfying movie." The film won the 2004 Western Heritage Award, and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award, an MTV Movie Award (Diego Luna), a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award as well as a Taurus Award
for stunt artist Chad Camilleri. Open Range was selected 48th greatest western of all time by TimeOut London.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine
Lauran Paine
Lauran Bosworth Paine was an American writer of Western fiction.Paine wrote over 900 books, including hundreds of Westerns as well as romance, science fiction, and mystery novels. He also wrote a number of non-fiction books on the Old West, military history, witchcraft, and other subjects...
. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
, and Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
.
The film received mostly positive reviews, and was a modest success at the box office, making about $58 million in the U.S. alone.
Overview
Open Range is a contemporary Western set in MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in 1882 (the year is seen on a new grave marker) though the movie was filmed entirely on location in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The background of the movie concerns the "range wars" that occurred in the American West in the late 19th century. The "wars" pitted those that believed in the "Law of the Open Range" — free access to water and grass for everyone, against the "barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
" men — land barons, who used the new fencing to define their empire and block the free-range cattlemen from moving their herds.
Plot
"Boss" Spearman (Robert DuvallRobert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
) is a free-range cattleman, who, with hired hands Charley Waite (Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
), Mose (Abraham Benrubi
Abraham Benrubi
Abraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi is an American character actor known for his appearances as Jerry Markovic on the long-running U.S...
), Button (Diego Luna
Diego Luna
Diego Luna is a Mexican actor known for his childhood telenovela work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi and Milk. Luna also had minor roles in Frida and Before Night Falls...
), and dog Tig are driving a herd cross country. Charley is a former soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
who fought in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and feels guilty over his past as a killer.
Boss sends Mose to the nearby town of Harmonville for supplies. The town is controlled by a ruthless Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
immigrant land baron, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
), who hates free-rangers and treats the inhabitants like trash . Mose is badly beaten and then jailed by the town marshal, Poole (James Russo
James Russo
James Vincent Russo is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 90 films in three decades.-Early life:...
), whom Baxter "owns." Many townspeople accept that Baxter is all-powerful and corrupt while others harbor animosity towards him. The only friendly inhabitant they meet is Percy (Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...
), a livery stable owner.
Boss and Charley become concerned when Mose doesn't return. They retrieve him from jail
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
but not before getting a stern warning from Baxter about free-ranging on his land. Mose's injuries are so severe that Boss and Charley take him to Doc Barlow (Dean McDermott
Dean McDermott
Dean McDermott is a Canadian-American actor best known in the United States for having married Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling, with whom he appeared in the observational documentary shows Tori & Dean: Inn Love and Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, and for having acted out the role of Constable...
). There they meet Susan Barlow (Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
). Charley is attracted immediately, but assumes that Susan is the doctor's wife.
It turns out that Baxter does not really want Boss to move on; he wants the herd. After catching masked riders scouting their cattle, Boss and Charley sneak up on their campfire in the dark of night. Baxter's henchmen are forced to strip and are sent back to town on foot. Another ambush, however, happening at the same time, results in the killing of Mose and the dog Tig. Button is badly injured and left for dead.
Charley and Boss vow to avenge this injustice. They leave Button at the doctor's house and go into town, where during a flash flood Charley saves a townsperson's dog. Boss and Charley are threatened by Poole but refuse to back down. Shortly thereafter, they lock Poole in his own jail. Boss knocks him out with chloroform he has stolen from the doctor's office. Other henchmen meet the same fate; they are locked up in Poole's cells and knocked out with the drug.
Charley and Boss psychologically prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. Charley learns that Sue is the doctor's sister, not his wife. Charley declares his feelings for her (at Boss's urging) and she gives him a locket for luck. In the town store, knowing that a bloody confrontation with Baxter is inevitable, Boss and Charley buy expensive cigars and chocolate, reasoning that they might be unable to enjoy these later. Charley leaves a note with Percy, the livery stable owner, in which he states that if he should die, money made from the sale of his saddle and gear are to be used to buy Sue a new tea set.
Outmanned in a gunfight, Boss and Charley are pitted against Baxter and his many henchmen. Charley doesn't wait to be drawn upon first, and shoots Butler (Kim Coates
Kim Coates
Kim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...
), the gunman who shot Button and killed Mose. The gunfight erupts and Boss is wounded. Some of Baxter's men flee as Charley guns them down one by one — Charley even manages to shoot Baxter himself early in the fight.
Rallied by Percy, the townspeople begin to openly fight against Baxter. Even the wounded Button stumbles out of his recovery bed in the doctor's house to fight with his friends. Baxter endangers innocent women and children to save himself after an intense firefight outside the jailhouse his henchmen all dead Baxter ends up wounded and alone, trapped in the jailhouse. Boss rushes the jail, mortally wounding Baxter. Boss stops just short of killing Baxter, stating that he wouldn't waste a bullet to ease Baxter's pain.
With the battle over, Charley witnesses the casualties: dead bodies, shaken innocent bystanders, and destroyed property. He speaks to Sue in private, telling her he must leave all this behind. She counters that she has a "big idea" about their future together and that she would wait for him to return.
Charley does return, proposing marriage to Sue. They embrace and kiss. Charley and Boss decide to give up the cattle business and settle down in Harmonville, taking over the saloon, whose owner (Baxter) was killed in the gunfight.
Main characters
- Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as Bluebonnet "Boss" Spearman is an aging cowboy and trail boss. He is an experienced cattleman, hard and a staunch traditionalist on the outside, but in fact a very caring man. He once had a wife and a child, but they contracted typhus and died, causing him to abandon his old life. He is beginning to realize that free-ranging is coming to an end, and thinks he might like to someday live in town and run a saloon. - Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
as Charles Travis "Charley" Postlewaite was a soldier during the Civil War and later a gunslingerGunslingerGunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
. Having killed a man who tried to rape his mother, he soon became accustomed to killing people. He went to work for Boss Spearman under the name Charley Waite for more than ten years. The terrible things he and others did in the past continue to haunt his dreams. When he arrives in Harmonville, his past catches up with him, but he finds a chance for love and a future. - Annette BeningAnnette BeningAnnette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
as Susan "Sue" Barlow is the sister and assistant of Harmonville's physician, Doc Barlow, and lives with him in a house with a white-picket fence on the edge of the town. She falls in love with Charley Waite when the free-rangers arrive with a badly hurt Button. She is a strong and righteous woman, daring to speak up against the tyrant Baxter and putting herself in danger to protect her patients on more than one occasion. - Michael GambonMichael GambonSir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
as Denton Baxter is an Irish-born land baron who considers Harmonville "his" town and is the film's main antagonist. He uses his hired guns as well as the corrupt Marshall Poole to rule the town and keep off free-grazers. When he orders his men to ambush Boss Spearman's men, a brutal conflict begins, in which Baxter shows that he does not have a problem with putting women and children in the line of fire, finally turning most of Harmonville against him. - Michael JeterMichael JeterMichael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...
as Percy runs Harmonville's livery stable. He warns Boss and Charley about Baxter's men and is the only townsman who stands with the free-rangers right from the beginning. Open Range would be Jeter's final onscreen role; the actor succumbed to an epileptic seizure on March 30, 2003. - Diego LunaDiego LunaDiego Luna is a Mexican actor known for his childhood telenovela work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi and Milk. Luna also had minor roles in Frida and Before Night Falls...
as Button is Spearman's Mexican-born youngest hand and kind of a foster child to the other free-rangers who found him living on the streets years before. He is badly hurt by Baxter's men, but plays an important role in the final gunfight. - James RussoJames RussoJames Vincent Russo is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 90 films in three decades.-Early life:...
as Marshal Poole - Abraham BenrubiAbraham BenrubiAbraham Rubin Hercules Benrubi is an American character actor known for his appearances as Jerry Markovic on the long-running U.S...
as Mose Harris is another of Spearman's hands, a large and peaceful man. He gets into a fight in Harmonville and is later killed by Baxter's henchman Butler. On the audio commentary for the Open Range DVD, Costner said that he cast Benrubi because he felt badly about having to cut the actor out of his previous film, The PostmanThe Postman (film)The Postman is an American post-apocalyptic epic film based on the 1985 novel of the same name by David Brin. It was filmed in northeastern Washington , Fidalgo Island, Washington, central Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, and was directed by Kevin Costner, who also stars in the film...
, as he considered his to be one of the better performances in that film. - Dean McDermottDean McDermottDean McDermott is a Canadian-American actor best known in the United States for having married Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling, with whom he appeared in the observational documentary shows Tori & Dean: Inn Love and Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, and for having acted out the role of Constable...
as Doc Barlow - Kim CoatesKim CoatesKim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...
as Butler - Herb KohlerHerbert Kohler, Jr.Herbert Vollrath Kohler, Jr. is the president and chairman of the Kohler Company, a manufacturing company in Kohler, Wisconsin, best known for its plumbing products....
as Cafe Man - Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
as Mack - Cliff SaundersCliff SaundersCliff Saunders ' is an American sports radio personality based in St. Louis, Missouri. Cliff is the co-host of the St. Louis Rams Post Game Show on 101 ESPN...
as Ralph - Patricia Stutz as Ralph's Wife
- Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Wylie - Ian TraceyIan TraceyIan Tracey is a Canadian Leo- and Gemini Award-winning actor. Over the years, Tracey has participated in over seventy films and television series. Tracey has starred in series like Da Vinci's Inquest and Intelligence, both CBC television series produced by long-time colleague Chris Haddock...
as Tom - Rod WilsonRod WilsonRodriques Wilson is an American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina...
as Gus
Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews, receiving a "fresh" 79% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "... an imperfect but deeply involving and beautifully made Western ..." Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
of the The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the film 4 stars out of 5, writing, "Duvall gives his best performance in ages" in a "... tough, muscular, satisfying movie." The film won the 2004 Western Heritage Award, and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award, an MTV Movie Award (Diego Luna), a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award as well as a Taurus Award
Taurus World Stunt Awards
The Taurus World Stunt Awards is a yearly award ceremony that honors stunt performers in movies. It is held each year in Los Angeles.- Categories :*Best Fight*Best Fire Stunt*Best High Work*Best Work with a Vehicle*Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman...
for stunt artist Chad Camilleri. Open Range was selected 48th greatest western of all time by TimeOut London.