Alphabetical Movie Marathon - Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove - This epic 6 hour miniseries deserves it's own post. Let me start by saying that I'm not big on Westerns but for some reason, this film (and it is a film, despite being made for TV) transcends its genres. It's a romance, a buddy film, a tragedy, a Lear-like end-of-life realization, a father-son drama, a coming-of-age adventure. It's just so big and so real and dirty and gritty and hard and painful. I think it touches me because, while all of the main characters are men, most of them are motivated by the women in their lives. Jake goes on the drive because of Lorena, Gus agrees to go because he might see Clare Allen, July goes after Jake because of Peach, changes course to find Almira and finds his new place in the world because of Clare, Woodrow takes in Newt because of the love he can't admit for Maggie. Jake even falls in with the outlaws and eventually gets hanged because he's avoiding a madam trying to get him to clean up a customer she shot. I can enjoy this film because it acknowledges the meaning and importance of women in these men's lives even though they are rough and tumble cowboys off on their last adventure.

The dirtiness of the production design is also very appealing to me. I love dirty movies. Where the hats are worn, the pants dusty and patched, the hair messy, the faces smudged, the horses sweaty and frothy. Its one of the reasons I didn't like The English Patient. Not dirty enough. It's a metaphor for life, in my opinion. Messy, crusty, dirty life. And it takes a lot of work to get that dirt on screen. There are many different stages of dirtiness as well. You can see the deterioration of the clothing as representative of the breaking down of the characters outer shells as the narrative arc progresses. You also see their attempts at putting themselves back together as they reenter more civilized towns. And one of my favorite lines: "Well, he's never been one to quit on a garment just cuz it's got a little age." The characters acknowedge the role that clothing plays in society quite a few times in the dialogue. It's really fascinating.

I may have more to write on this film later.