Henry King's The Gunfighter is a tightly paced exploration of mythmaking and social expectations, illuminating the insidious impact fame places on identity through its tale of a notorious gunfighter who is looking for a way out of his perpetual state of solitude and violence. Stately direction effectively lets the viewer soak in the frontier milieu, elucidating how social hierarchies are established through decentralized communication - gossip, hearsay - in which our chief protagonist has built up a reputation for being the most feared gun in the west. Played to perfection by Gregory Peck, who balances the character's coarse exterior with his understated longing, the lead protagonist is a character caught in a state of introspection, growing tired of his elevated status and the constant confrontations it welcomes, longing for the warmth and steady nature of domesticated life. The film's ability to exhibit how identity is sometimes framed by external forces as much as internal is a fascinating aspect, as Peck's Jimmy Ringo character is seemingly awakened to discover the hostility of his reputation, one which leads him to constantly have a bull's eye on his back, which practically guarantees he will never be at peace. Machismo's intrinsic solitude in opposition to the warm embrace of love is the thematic fulcrum of this story, personal success and the hierarchal weight it carries being ultimately an alienating force that leads to a tragic conclusion. Grade-A western by King, who himself is very underrated filmmaking in the great American genre..
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|