Recently, actor Sam Elliott went on an all-time nonsensical rant criticizing the Netflix, academy award winning western “Power Of The Dog”. The bulk of his criticisms were directed towards the films allusions to homosexuality, the lack of horse riding among other familiar western tropes, and the film being shot in New Zealand as reasons why the film was “a piece of shit”.
His rants, particularly the bits about homosexuality, are just down right disappointing.
“That’s what all these fucking cowboys in that movie looked like. They’re all running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the fucking movie.”
And
“Where’s the Western in this Western? I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his fucking chaps. He had two pairs of chaps, a woolly pair and a leather pair. And every fucking time he would walk in from somewhere — he never was on a horse, maybe once — he’d walk into the fucking house, storm up the fucking stairs, go lay in his bed in his chaps, and play his banjo. It’s like, what the fuck?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN50bmU_Liw
Sam Elliott knows a thing or two about playing cowboys in western movies. After starting his career with a small role in “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid”, he would go on to become a mainstay in the genre for the next 50 years, from films like Tombstone to the Yellowstone spin-off series 1883 today. His tall lanky physique, low raspy voice, and walrus mustache are a huge reason for his success in the genre. The man really looks like a cowboy.
Regardless of whatever credentials he thinks he has to be a “voice of reason” for western films, Same Elliott is all kinds of wrong for his criticisms.
The truth is that most western movies, especially today, are really not that good. Too often they revolve around a hyper-masculine, straight-shooting male protagonist who carries an unrealistic authority that no one seems to question. Early western icons such as John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and James Stewart excelled in these kinds of roles. Appropriate and reflective of their time? Sure, but a little tacky as well. People aren’t like that in real life, even those who we decide are “heroes”. The result is that western movies are often difficult to take seriously because of their overreliance on these types of male protagonists.
Quite frankly I find them boring, uncompelling, and somewhat laughable.
Not to mention, how many more mindless shootouts, horse-riding scenes, bank robberies, or a lone sheriff take on all the bad guys?
That’s the sort of mindless escape that Marvel movies provide for us today. Westerns need to be better and that starts with pushing the genre forward in films like “Power Of The Dog”. Without spoiling the film “Power of the Dog” I would like to say that one of the male leads: a character named Phil Burbank (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) is the most compelling lead in a western I have seen since Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) in “There Will Be Blood”. Phil is a closeted homosexual who overcompensates with brash hypermasculinity and behavior. The film as a whole paints a kind of western that is far closer to the one that probably did exist. It effectively greys the genre by introducing themes of sexuality, anger, imperfect lead characters, and real (therefore complicated) love, not the kind that begins and ends with saving the girl.
We need more of this because western movies not only need to become better, they need to become more accessible to different type of people. Otherwise all the genre will ever be, moving forward, is a sort of “safe” place where die hard western fans can indulge in the same tropes and themes till the end of time. The kind of films that carry about as much artistic as the latest installment of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The way an idea or genre, as it pertains to film, stays alive is by evolving. Striving to be more inclusive, realistic, and comprehensive than its predecessors. Sam Elliot doesn’t seem to understand that or worse.. he does understand it but chooses to attack the film because he feels threatened by change. But it isn’t really change because the types of cowboys he made his money playing don’t exist and they never did.
If you haven’t seen many westerns, that is totally understandable. It is not the most accessible or well-crafted genre most times. However, there are some gems that I would to recommend if you are curious.
No Country For Old Man
There Will Be Blood
Power Of The Dog
Brokeback Mountain
Jeremiah Johnson
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Hateful Eight
Django Unchained
Once Upon A Time In The West (The Only “Spaghetti Western” I think is any interesting)