The last few years, Kevin Costner’s been most associated with Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western series Yellowstone, but Westerns have always been a big part of his filmography. From Silverado to Dances with Wolves and Wyatt Earp, the actor and director has more than left his mark on Western film and television. Acclaimed for his talent both in front of and behind the camera, the Oscar winner has consistently displayed an affinity for the frontier for the better part of four decades.
But despite stellar work in the aforementioned titles, his greatest contribution to the genre remains 2003’s Open Range. Once again, grabbing the directorial reins, Costner and Robert Duvall co-star as cattle herders who run afoul of a vicious Irish rancher in a small Montana town. Meditative, powerfully acted, and featuring one of the most thrilling shootouts in Western history, the film continues to affirm Costner as a storytelling force to be reckoned with.
What Is ‘Open Range’ About?
Adapted from Lauran Paine’s 1990 novel, Open Range follows Boss Spearman (Duvall) and Charley Waite (Costner) as they drive a herd of cattle through a stunning 1882 Western landscape. Accompanied by Mose (Abraham Benrudi) and Button (Diego Luna), the men find themselves in danger after attracting unwanted attention from Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon), a ruthless landowner who holds sway over the nearby town of Harmonville.
After befriending local allies in Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), her brother Doc (Dean McDermott), and Percy (Michael Jeter), Boss and Charley accept their respective fates as targeted men in hostile territory. Baxter’s utter contempt for herders on his land, coupled with his goons applying ever-increasing pressure, put the aging cattlemen on the offensive and set the stage for an epic showdown.
Kevin Costner Uses a Slow-Burn Storytelling Approach
Tightly plotted and paced, Open Range eschews fast-paced action and thrills in favor of a Western that takes its time. While the tendency to dive headlong into gunplay is always tempting, Costner gives his film room to breathe in exploring life in the Old West. Before encountering Denton Baxter and his men, audiences are given an intimate glimpse into the daily lives of cattlemen who are either in or approaching the twilight of their years.
While they traverse lush prairies and rolling hills, the frontiersmen regularly wrestle with the logistics of such an existence. Playing card games to wait out raging storms, working to free their wagon from sticking in the mud, and waxing philosophical over the seemingly mundane details of their day-to-day existence, Boss and Charley take the herding experience in stride.
Even as the eventual threat of violence looms large, and the odds continue stacking against our heroes, Open Range remains patient in its presentation of events, avoiding sensational glorification and spectacle in favor of pragmatic, thoughtful storytelling.
But the film’s conscious restraint doesn’t diminish the sense of dread and foreboding as Boss and Charley inch closer to a day of reckoning. In amplifying the presence of impending conflict, Costner wrings every ounce of suspense out of Craig Storper’s screenplay, and the momentum building to Open Range’s explosive climax is sure to have viewers on edge.
Kevin Costner Prioritizes Characters Over Action
Despite the inherent dangers of navigating an unforgiving natural landscape, and contending with the often violent men inhabiting it, Boss and Charley are given ample opportunity to reflect on the past, make sense of the present, and speculate about potential futures in ways that are intimate and revealing. Unlike Dances with Wolves’ John Dunbar, whose epic journey of discovery unfolds on a sweeping canvas, and in contrast to the near-mythical status of a gunslinger like Wyatt Earp, Costner’s Charley gives audiences a more understated and reserved kind of Western protagonist.
A Civil War veteran with a violent past, his fears and desires concerning his circumstances are universal and resonant. And Charley’s relationship with the elder Boss provides opportunities for him to open up, divulging thoughts and feelings that tight-lipped Western archetypes often avoid. Frequently acting as Charley’s conscience and guiding light, Duvall’s Boss imbues Open Range with a sense of reverence and authenticity. Lending the narrative stoicism and compassion, he’d also prefer to live his remaining days in peace.
Though he’s often a man of few words, Boss’ musings about human nature have a genuine profundity based on personal experience. Having lost his wife and child to illness many years before, he’s no stranger to heartache, regret, and introspection. As a surrogate guardian to the young Mose and Button early on, and ultimately to Charley, Boss’ matter-of-fact approach to life rings true and lacks cynicism. One of the film’s most touching moments sees the elder cattleman treat himself and Charley to expensive Swiss chocolate and Harmonville’s “finest” cigars, a last supper of sorts before confronting Denton Baxter and his men.
‘Open Range’s Shootout Is a Western Best
By the time bullets start flying in Open Range, audiences have spent more than 100 minutes with Boss and Charley, and the rising anticipation preceding their gunfight with Denton Baxter and his men is well-earned. With the creeping suspicion that the two cattlemen don’t expect to survive (they reveal their real names to one another before the shootout), the stakes are high, and the tension only adds to the sequence’s power. Kicking off with a literal and metaphorical bang, the action soars and rarely lets up for nearly 20 minutes of screen time.
In staging the sequence, Costner and Director of Photography James Michael Muro often forego tight, confined framing in favor of wide master shots. By opening up the scope of the action, and with editor Miklos Wright avoiding frenetic cuts that so often plague such sequences to the point of disorientation, Open Range’s climactic shootout maintains a clear sense of geography throughout. As it evolves into a game of cat and mouse, with men taking cover and lying in wait, audiences know exactly where the players are and what’s at stake. Costner also keeps the use of composer Michael Kamen’s score to a minimum, paving the way for a concussive sound design made up of shattering glass, splintering wood, and bodily impact.
After the final shots ring out, roughly a dozen men are dead, and the townspeople are shaken. But Boss, Charley, and an injured Button are still standing, and the sense of justice for the wrongs committed against them is palpable and satisfying. As Harmonville breathes a sigh of relief, finally free of the oppressive reign brought about by Denton Baxter, his posse, and a corrupt Marshal, a new beginning awaits. Charley, having fallen for Sue, promises to return to town along with Boss, and the two men discuss plans to run the local saloon. While it could be easy or even tempting to dismiss Open Range’s conclusion as an idyllic, happy ending, it remains consistent with the film’s sincere and tender treatment of the partnership between its weary protagonists.