John Wayne is probably the totem for the romanticized American west produced by Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century. He is certainly not the only "toxic male" who tries to dominate everybody and everything he contacts (think Maureen O'Hara in her bloomers being dragged around by him). He kills misunderstood bad guys who lacked love as children and takes land away from Native Americans so "white" people could make America pan Europe all over again. I won't go into how heterosexual he was because there were a handful of Hollywood male stars who both portrayed he-men and were closeted and repressed gay-men. But we have all these tropes that need attacking. We need to address these traditional ills from the last century, don't we? Isn't that why we go to the movies? To be taught lessons or watch really smart people show us the way through pretty pictures? Entertainment? Why? Romance, drama, comedy, thrills, chills, well no, you rube. You want circuses with your bread? Nah. You need to be shown the "way."
Cumberbatch's hat is a hoot. Seeing it and his petulant attitude just calls to question, "you can't be serious, right?" But it is. He is. Very serious. Howlingly funny serious. The whole movie is very serious. Self-flagellation serious. A steaming pile of serious. So much symbolism. So many pretty paper flowers burned in petulant frustration. Maybe you're up for a lesson or two? Be prepared.
Quite few people liked this. You might too. Who knows? I would have loved to see John Ford's reaction to this stuff. A "western." Why not? I gave it three stars because I lasted about a third of the way through it before deciding to do something a little more fun. After all, it is my time. If I have to waste it, I'll waste it on romance, comedy, thrills or some other circus that takes me away from my quest for bread. Your mileage may vary.
Cumberbatch's hat is a hoot. Seeing it and his petulant attitude just calls to question, "you can't be serious, right?" But it is. He is. Very serious. Howlingly funny serious. The whole movie is very serious. Self-flagellation serious. A steaming pile of serious. So much symbolism. So many pretty paper flowers burned in petulant frustration. Maybe you're up for a lesson or two? Be prepared.
Quite few people liked this. You might too. Who knows? I would have loved to see John Ford's reaction to this stuff. A "western." Why not? I gave it three stars because I lasted about a third of the way through it before deciding to do something a little more fun. After all, it is my time. If I have to waste it, I'll waste it on romance, comedy, thrills or some other circus that takes me away from my quest for bread. Your mileage may vary.