What the Sam Hall?
Author: David Ferguson (fergusontx@gmail.com) from Dallas, Texas
3 November 2011
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Greetings again from the darkness. George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of my all-time favorites. Action, adventure, gun play, wise-cracking, romance, charming lead actors, and a touch of western legend, all combine for a very entertaining film. Spanish screenwriter and director Mateo Gil (s/p, The Sea Inside) takes up the story 20 years from the infamous freeze frame that ended Hill's 1969 film.
Sure, you might need suspension of disbelief since we all remember the hundreds of Bolivian soldiers firing at once when Butch and Sundance attempted their escape, but this film is really more about aging and trying to put things right. The Butch we are first introduced to is writing a letter to the son of Etta Place, after her death. He writes that it's time to come home - meaning he is to leave the quiet life in rural Bolivia and make the long journey back to the U.S.
This aging "Uncle Butch" we meet is played by the great Sam Shepard. Mr. Shepard is not just a Pulitzer winning writer, but he has always had an incredibly strong screen presence ... a wonderful face and trustworthy voice. Here is in full grizzled cowboy mode and sports the bright eyes we remember from Paul Newman, while displaying a newfound peace raising horses in the Bolivian countryside.
He lives this life as James Blackthorn, not Butch Cassidy. He even has a relationship with one of the local ladies, who seems filled with the spirit that Butch had as a younger man Blackthorn collects his savings from the bank ... a bit ironic, eh? He sets off on the journey, but is quickly knocked off course thanks to the recklessness of a Spainish thief played by Eduardo Noriega. Noriega says he can makes things right and the two form an unlikely team. Of course, Butch has become more trusting in his old age, and Noriega turns out not to be the partner than Sundance once was.
This whole story is a bit outlandish, but it's at its best when Blackthorn runs smack dab into Makinley, one of the old Pinkerton men who was chasing him twenty years ago. Turns out, Makinley (Stephen Rea) is a social outcast because he was the only one who thought the boys survived that attack so many years ago. Seems both Makinley and Blackthorn have been cast aside and trapped in Bolivia.
While Shepard is outstanding, he shares star billing with the terrain of Bolivia. It definitely holds its own versus the Monument Valley we have seen in so many westerns over the years. The salt flats are particularly beautiful and treacherous, and filmed with skill by the director. We are also treated to periodic flashbacks and a few of the key moments for Butch, Sundance and Etta. We learn that the partnership was truly that ... one for all.
This film will have little box office success, but it's certainly worth a look for those of you intrigued by the Butch and Sundance legend, and are able to wonder just WHAT IF ....
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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A Decent Entry In The OLD COWBOY Library
Author: Kristopher from Maine
9 January 2012
Reviews Of Unusual Size
Re: Butch Cassidy never died. He hid out in Bolivia and bred horses. Found himself a little lady and a cabin. Then he decided to head north and visit his Niece. His horse runs off with his money and he ends up with a troublesome varmint that has $50,000 Sterling he's stolen from a group of miners. Cassidy, going by the name Blackthorn decides to help the man.
Outstanding: Filmed beautifully and directed with a solid hand that really shows the vivid beauty of the locations. Sam Shepard is a great actor and looks so excellent in this. He also has surprisingly pitch perfect comedic chops. Unacceptable: The story is pretty far-fetched and Blackthorn gets hornswaggled too easily, even for an old feller.
Summary: I'm a total sucker for westerns and this is a good one. A classic "Old Cowboy Takes One Last Ride" movie. Strong script and great acting. I recommend it highly. A note - The screener copy I watched did not have subtitles for the Spanish language portions of the film, which is probably around 1/3 of the dialogue. I assume the final release has them, but it did make certain scenes hard to follow. 4/5
