The Hi-Lo Country

Pete (Billy Crudup) and his buddy "Big Boy" (Woody Harrelson) are friends through it all. They meet when Pete sells Big Boy a horse, and Big Boy offers to help him with a ranch. With a bit of a shrug, Pete says there's no way he could afford to pay for help. Big Boy insists. He ain't asking for a job, he's offering to help the man. And, just like that, the two are thick as thieves. When the Second World War rages on, the two enlist together--Pete opts for the Army, serving his time in Europe, and Big Boy signs up for the Marines, where he fights the Japanese in the Pacific Theater. After the war ends, they pick up right where they left off, like nothing ever happened.

But something has happened to the town around them. Jim Ed Love (Sam Elliott) made a killing during the war by buying up properties and ranches, while other men were off serving and dying for their country. Love has a near-total stranglehold on the cattle industry, and even owns a number of the town's big names under his employ, including Big Boy's own brother, Little Boy (Cole Hauser). Pete and Big Boy do something of advantage that no one else does anymore, by herding cattle long distances the old way, on horseback. Even during this monopolistic nightmare, the two put their heads and brawn together to succeed against all odds. What could possibly come between these two?

A tale as old as time. Older than the Wild West. Older than the country. A woman. Mona (Patricia Arquette) is married to one of Jim Ed's closest sycophants, but Pete wants her in the strongest, most animalistic sense. It doesn't matter if it isn't true love, or even if it is, there's a pure lust to his attraction to her that he can't deny. His main squeeze, Josepha (Penelope Cruz) sees it, and no matter how much she explains to him the illogic of it all, being attracted to her, it doesn't matter. And when she winds up with Big Boy himself, and they embark on a torrid love affair together, Pete drowns his sorrows in liquor and bad decisions.

The Hi-Lo Country was written by Walon Green and was originally intended to be directed by Sam Peckinpah. And while thematically it makes sense to re-team the writer/director duo behind The Wild Bunch for another story about the end of an era, set in a form of the Wild West that's going extinct, I think Stephen Frears was the right choice as director for this story. Frears has a natural ability to allow dialogue to unfold in a way that doesn't feel staged; it feels real, and while our subjects are "performing," in a sense, with these large, exaggerated stories, the audience is themselves, not us. Frears did the same thing in The Snapper, and while the British director may have felt more at home in an Irish setting, he views the American West with a sense of foreign majesty. The setting suns and the mountains on the horizon are like a painting, to render its beauty as a facsimile of that kind of grandeur. 

There's a lot to admire in The Hi-Lo Country, but at the end, when all is said and done, it's a collection of successful parts that never quite coalesce to a meaningful whole. The performances are terrific. Likewise, the dialogue between characters feels natural and unforced in a specific way that these people may speak to each other, particularly when hiding secrets. Where it falls short, sadly, is in the story itself, which often feels like a checklist of melodramatic beats. It's a shame because when the story deviates from its familiar formula, it feels alive and organic in an exciting, new way. But then it takes a number of detours only to wind back on its familiar path.

The Hi-Lo Country is far from a bad movie. It just falls frustratingly short of greatness.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
The Hi-Lo Country gallops onto Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics in a single-disc release, housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover. Both the case and the slip adorn the same cover artwork, dating back to the film's original theatrical release.

It's unclear whether Kino Lorber is using the original video transfer used for Shout! Factory's DVD release back in 2012, or if a new scan/transfer was commissioned. In either case, I can't argue with the results, because it looks terrific. Shot on 35mm film by cinematographer Oliver Stapleton, The Hi-Lo Country successfully bridges two worlds: The Wild West in all its browns and tans, and a post-WWII America, slathered in fifty shades of gray and other neutrals, against a vividly blue sky. Focus is incredibly sharp throughout, with dialogue scenes taking place mostly in close-up, per the director's oeuvre, and establishing shots as epic masters. Film grain is present throughout, dancing balletically throughout the 1080p high-definition video presentation. 

As per Kino Lorber's usual offerings, The Hi-Lo Country comes equipped with both a 5.1 surround option and a 2.0 stereo option, both encoded in DTS-HD MA. I gave both a listen to, and the stereo option is terrific for folks with a two-channel soundbar, or just using their TV's speakers. Dialogue clarity is crisp, and finely balanced with musical score, needledrops and ambient effects. The 5.1 option, for viewers who have a proper surround setup, is the way to go. It's awesome, in the truest sense of the word. Carter Burwell's throwback score to the western films of yore explodes across the soundstage, while atmospherics like a whistling wind make their way to the rears. It's an incredibly immersive experience, expertly designed and engineered. And, like its stereo counterpoint, dialogue clarity is always favored throughout.

Unfortunately, only one special feature has been included in this release (an audio commentary), which is one better than its original DVD release, and Shout! Factory's re-release in 2012, both of which had none.

• Audio Commentary - Film historian/writer Julie Kirgo and writer/filmmaker Pete Hankoff
• Trailer

The Hi-Lo Country is an old-fashioned movie, for better and for worse. It understands the assignment and commits to a visual splendor, filmically and visually fawning over an era that's at its end. The core relationship, between Pete and Big Boy, is solidly acted by the two leads and written by Walon Green. The love triangle they're embroiled in is less solid, and oftentimes feels like a necessity by the film's plot to inject drama and tension. And while I have my complaints, it's a gorgeous Blu-ray with an excellent, top-tier surround sound mix and backed by an informative audio commentary. Kino Lorber's release of The Hi-Lo Country is Recommended.