Beware genre films made by people too cool for that genre. That's what this feels like. "Ooh let's set it in the 1940s and explore character and not have caricatures". The thing is the base situation is so stock - evil land baron (Jason Robards) wants to kick feisty woman (Jane Fonda) off land and she's helped by hunky man (James Caan). There's a grizzled sidekick (Richard Farnsworth) plus a partner of Caan's (Mark Harmon, young and charismatic) to get killed early on.
Nothing wrong with that plot, however old - having Robards in debt to oil company isn't that much of a new twist - the main problem is the film is drained of excitement. There's no sexual tension or romance between Fonda and Caan, they're just in scenes together then they get together (the only character to exude warmth is Farnsworth). There's no excitement - the baddies poke around then occasionally flare up. Every now and then they throw in a bit of violence - Harmon is killed, then Caan punches someone in a bar, some bank guy is randomly killed, at the end Robards gets all melodrama villain conking out Fonda and Caan and putting them in a closet and setting the house on fire, then they come galloping back and... oh it's silly. Until then it's dull.
Beautifully shot. The acting is fine. Robarts is excellent. Just dull. Like an Australian film.
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