Appaloosa

Actor Ed Harris’s second directorial effort is a good one, a strange, period Western starring Harris and Viggo Mortensen as hired marshals trying to clean up a vulnerable town. Jeremy Irons is wicked fun as a ranch owner who doesn’t like it when lawmen show up on his property. Renee Zellweger is impressive as a woman with a meek appearance who lacks certain control abilities. Her constant, contorted smile is put to good use this time out. Harris portrays a hero afflicted by major self-esteem issues, with Mortensen doing an excellent job as a man quietly disapproving of things going on around him. The movie has a cool rustic look to it (I especially liked a simple shot of a mountain lion gazing upon a train). It’s a quiet movie, and a good one.