Thoughts on Pale Rider

via IMDB

"Who are you? Who are you ... really?"
"Well, it really doesn't matter, does it?"

The Preacher (Clint Eastwood) is dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. I apologize if I'm spoiling Pale Rider, but the movie isn't especially coy that something more than normal is going on. Megan (Sydney Penny) prayed and The Preacher arrived. Is he one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Is he merely a soul not quite redeemed? Screenwriters Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack don't give all the answers, nor does director-producer-star Eastwood.

Megan is the prospective stepdaughter of prospector Hull (Michael Moriarty). The camp where Megan, Hull and her mother Sarah (Carrie Snodgress) live is on land sought by Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart). Coy and his son, Josh (Chris Penn), aren't above fighting dirty. Whether facing raids, the imposing Club (Richard Kiel), attempted rape or the trigger-happy deputies of Marshal Stockburn (John Russell), Hull and company don't get much of a break.

Pale Rider, as everyone knows, was Eastwood's first western in nine years and his last for seven years. It was also the first major western in nearly five years. Eastwood, who directed himself for the 10th time, is said to have come up with the movie's theme before having the screenplay written. Keeping all that in mind, you can slightly forgive Rider's brain trust for taking a back to basics approach with their movie. Heroes win, bad guys are defeated, and virtue's intact.

"It was him. Him and his men. They shot him. Forever. The bullets kept hitting him. Forever."

My biggest problem with Rider is that it feels like it could have come out long before Eastwood's heyday. The story is told so antiseptically. The Preacher catches the eye of both Megan and Sarah. Megan quickly gets jealous* and just as quickly gets over it. Sarah and The Preacher apparently have sex**, but if Hull knows, he doesn't say anything. We also get the briefest of resolutions after Hull discovers Stockburn's fatal wounds, which resemble the ones he saw earlier on The Preacher's body.
*Between this and The Thorn Birds, Penny cornered the market on girls with crushes on clergymen.
**Which would seem to suggest that The Preacher is human after all.

Following Rider, I imagined The Preacher was actually a demon. The LaHoods are responsible for terrorizing, violence, destruction of the environment and a few fatalities, including Sarah's dog. The Preacher is responsible for violence, the temporary destruction of a family and multiple fatalities***. Having The Preacher be a spirit rather than a human also works as an explanation for how well he's able to defeat LaHood's men, Stockburn's deputies and Stockburn himself. In the classic style of evil, the last shot (which kills LaHood) is fired by the last seemingly innocent individual, Hull.
***You can argue that he's a little responsible for Spider (Doug McGrath) dying. True, The Preacher didn't get Spider drunk and Spider had issues with LaHood long before he found his enormous gold nugget. But at the same time, would Spider have been so bold without The Preacher's influence?

Nobody embarrasses themselves in Pale Rider. Perhaps the movie would be more interesting if they did.

"Preacher my ass."

Not Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- Box Office: Grossing $41.4 million on a $6.9 million budget, this opened at No. 1 and came in at No. 18 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner, the movie: "The trail is all too familiar and pretty soon we recollect why westerns lost their appeal," Rita Kempley wrote in The Washington Post. "There isn't a gleam of good sense anywhere in this picture," according to Pauline Kael. Variety: "It's all been seen before, but Eastwood serves it up with authority, fine craftsmanship and a frequent sense of fun."

-- Critic's Corner, Eastwood: "Impersonating mere humans is no longer a challenge," Richard Corliss wrote in Time. "(He) plays God, or maybe Death. With his gritty stare and stubble, he looks like both, warmed over." Kael: "Eastwood goes through his motions like someone exhumed." Still, he impressed Vincent Canby: "Mr. Eastwood has continued to refine the identity of his Western hero by eliminating virtually every superfluous gesture. He's a master of minimalism. The camera does not reflect vanity. It discovers the mystical character within."

-- Awards Watch: A Palme d'Or nominee at Cannes, this won the Western Writers of America's "Spur Award" for Best Screenplay. Penny, meanwhile, scored a Young Artist Award.

-- "Well, if you're waitin' for a woman to make up her mind, you may have a long wait."

-- Next: Back to the Future. On deck: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Silverado.