SpecialsTarget
Disturbing yet enthralling
Inadvands
Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess
Connianatu
How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.
sksolomonb
It may be my chick flick-oriented mind, but I believe there is a reason for the title, "Comes a Horseman." Ella Connor is the proverbial damsel in distress and in need of rescue. Frank arrives as the rescuer on a horse, but his role in this respect is not obvious because he is more dead than alive after being shot in an ambush. Instead of arriving as the conquering hero on horseback, he is slung across the saddle of Dodger, Ella's elderly ranch hand, who has found him gravely wounded. Dodger at once deposits Frank in the bunk house of Ella's ranch, where Dodger and Ella nurse him back to health.I remember the touching, wistful scene in which Ella gazes at the doll house her late father had made for her when she was a little girl. The house is a perfect miniature of Ella's childhood home, which she has inherited from her parents. Her expression shows her longing for the unfulfilled dreams of finding Mr. Right and continuing her family's ranching tradition. There also is the scene in which Ella tries to bottle feed an orphaned foal, only to have the creature not survive. Ella shows her maternal instinct in caring for the animal, and this shows her unfulfilled dream of motherhood. Stoically, she carries the dead foal outside and buries it.I especially noticed the respect Frank has for Ella and the companionship and partnership they share while working on the ranch, with these aspects of their association turning into true love and plans for marriage. Just before the tragic loss of the house, Frank comes home from town and sets a little black velvet box -- presumably holding an engagement ring -- at Ella's place at the kitchen table. Their relationship, along with the beautiful scenery of Colorado, really "make" this movie meaningful to me.
Maziun
I strongly suggest to watch something else instead of this crap. It's a total failure considering the talents involved here – director Alan Pakula ("All the presidents men") and stars like James Caan ("Godfather") and Jane Fonda ("On golden pound").The story itself is cliché and has been done many times before – in westerns or action movies. This movie actually doesn't want to be a western or action movie. It wants to be a character driven drama . Unfortunately the characters aren't all that interesting. The movie is also too long and moves too slowly. This is one badly directed movie. The acting isn't bad , but I couldn't really care about any of the characters. The main villain (Jason Robards) is also uninteresting and not scary at all. There is some action near the end , but it's hardly anything memorable.I would rather watch "Nowhere to run" with Van Damme. It was better directed and more entertaining than this. Not amazing , but watchable enough. This ? This is just boring.I give it 1/10.
fung0
I've rarely been so totally disappointed by a movie as I was by this one. That's because it starts out so well! At the halfway mark, I was thinking I'd discovered one of the great westerns of all time. There's a wonderful sense of realism: the dirt, the sun, the hard work, these come through as in few other westerns I can think of. Jane Fonda does a great job as a weathered cowgirl who just refuses to give up. Caan is a bit out of place, but doesn't let things down, and Farnsworth is perfect as the old cowhand trying to get in just one more roundup. The romance between Caan and Fonda is under-played beautifully... you sense it, but never get the feeling that the writers forced it on the characters.But then it all goes to pieces, with one of the stupidest endings I've ever seen on a major motion picture. Gone is the realism, the logic, the drama... everything, in fact, that you've been enjoying up till that point. All you've got left is cliché and stupidity: Snidely Wiplash twirling his mustachios over a truly moronic murder attempt (why didn't Robards just shoot everybody? or at least tie them up a bit better??), and an abrupt halt (you can't call it an "ending") that fails to resolve ANY of the film's more interesting plot lines. It's like first they ran out of ideas, then they ran out of film.Most of Comes a Horseman is so good, I'd like to say it's worth watching, regardless. But the ultimate sense of frustration overwhelms any possible pleasure. Unless you literally have the discipline to switch off twenty minutes before the end, you definitely shouldn't waste your time on this sad misfire.
wcb
Jason Robards plays such a slimeball character in this that you know the ending from about the fourth minute. Nevertheless, it's a good story, with lots of hidden secrets to reveal. Caan plays a believable laid-back love interest for tough, gutsy Jane Fonda. The best thing is the photography, however-- in particular the dance scene, in which the camera follows Fonda and Caan as they move through a crowded outdoor dance floor without every losing either focus or the stars. Breathtaking. Some great mountains somewhere in Wyoming come close to stealing the show.
