I guess if you want to talk yourself into believing this movie makes some sense you could do so. There are some well presented reviews here that make a pretty good case for it, but if it takes twisting yourself into a pretzel to make all the pieces fit, why wouldn't it be just as good an idea to have a story with a beginning, middle and an end?
I'll say one thing though, I've never seen a Western before where so many horses just disappear and reappear again. The woman (Millie Perkins) must have let the mule go free, but what happened to Coley's horse in the desert? Pretty convenient that there was a bearded old guy with a broken leg in the middle of the desert so Coley (Will Hutchins) could catch a ride again. And I'm not really sure why the woman's white horse that she shot for no reason wound up dying all over again - was that an editing mistake, a mirage, a delusion, what?
Having Jack Nicholson arrive looking all real strong and pretty was a nice touch, and I had to do a double take when he said it not once but twice - "You talking to me"? It makes perfect sense that Travis Bickle would have been inspired by gunslinger Billy Spear ten years later in "Taxi Driver". He would have been right at home in this picture.
I'll say one thing though, I've never seen a Western before where so many horses just disappear and reappear again. The woman (Millie Perkins) must have let the mule go free, but what happened to Coley's horse in the desert? Pretty convenient that there was a bearded old guy with a broken leg in the middle of the desert so Coley (Will Hutchins) could catch a ride again. And I'm not really sure why the woman's white horse that she shot for no reason wound up dying all over again - was that an editing mistake, a mirage, a delusion, what?
Having Jack Nicholson arrive looking all real strong and pretty was a nice touch, and I had to do a double take when he said it not once but twice - "You talking to me"? It makes perfect sense that Travis Bickle would have been inspired by gunslinger Billy Spear ten years later in "Taxi Driver". He would have been right at home in this picture.