Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). Directed by Sam Peckinpah; written by Rudy Wurlitzer. With James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, and Bob Dylan. Music by Bob Dylan. Cinematography by John Coquillon.

Before the review, two caveats:

1. I watched the "2005 Special Edition" (i.e. Disc 1 from the 2-Disc Special Edition), which is 7 minutes shorter than the "1988 Turner Preview Edition" (i.e. Disc 2).
   
2. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I watched the movie in two hour-long segments.

First off, along with Alien and Being John Malkovich, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid goes down as one of the most aptly titled films of all time. This film is completely dependent upon the relationship between the lawman Pat Garrett (Coburn at his gravely best), and his scofflaw prey Billy the Kid (the decent Kris Kristofferson). Which is very strange, because the pair have three scenes together. Chronologically in those scenes:

1. They are seperated by a wall during a shoot-out when they shout at each other.
2. They comiserate over the zealousness of one of Garrett's contemporaries in a jailhouse card game.
3. They don't speak to each other.
   

Everything we need to know about the chemistry between those two is set up in the second scene. This is to the credit of the actors, becasue they convey a mutual history quite well. The success of the story hinges upon the audience realizing that in the Old West, the line between criminal and law enforcer comes close to disapperaing. Garrett and the Kid (at least in the history of the film) formerly rode together as outlaws. After a falling out, Garrett becomes a sherriff as an act of self-preservation, whereas the Kid continues robbing and raising all sorts of hell. Once the Kid escapes Garrett's keep, Garrett is hired to follow Billy across the state and find him for a sizable sum. The film feels a lot like a TV show, following a very episodic structure, what we're seeing is vignettes of Billy the Kid as fugitive, and Garrett as stoic, reluctant lawman.

We meet a lot (perhaps too many) of supporting characters. And many of them are interesting and well-acted, but few of them do anything to further the story. This film is focused on character. Which is fine, I love movies like Annie Hall, but we don't see these characters very much.

This is a Peckinpah film. And the word that comes up a lot in discussion of Peckinpah is "sexism". Which -at least in this film- is inaccurate. Women are objectified, but the characters objectifying them are not seen as good characters. Garrett visits hookers he doesn't know, whereas any lovemaking Billy the Kid does is with people who he knows and has relationships with.

Which brings us to what would concern me were I Mama Peckinpah: the romanticization of the outlaw. We never see Billy the Kid commit a crime other than in self-defense. We see Pat Garrett commit all sorts of immoral activities. When the Kid escapes from jail the town helps him. When Pat Garrett upholds the law, small children throw stones at him. I should point out that this is Peckinpah's M.O., and as such I didn't have too many qualms about it. All of this dubious moralizing is to further the point I alluded to earlier: the line between being a criminal and upholding the wall is wafer thin. Characters flip-flop allegiances, most notably Jack Elam as Alamosa Bill who Garrett deputizes purely because he was standing there.

I should also mention Dylan's score, which isn't so much a score as a collection of songs that are played over extended establishing shots throughout the film. The album (which I owned prior to seeing the film) works better as an album than it does a soundtrack, though I should mention that "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is used to a particularly heartbreaking effect in a sequence involving Slim Pickens. Furthermore, Dylan's performance is given third billing, but he really is only in a few scenes, and is given very little to do. He's good given the limitations of the role, but it rarely transcends novelty.

Overall, I give the film B-.

Thank you.