06 February 2010

The Searchers



For such a simplistic depiction of cowboys and indians, this sure is a morally complicated story. At first it felt a little too gooey, too sugar-coated to be "the best western of all time," but the further in you go... boy, it sure gets dark. The scene where Marty and Ethan find the rescued white women who've basically been driven insane or feral? Disturbing.

My only criticism is that the end felt entirely too convenient and cheerful. I don't know which seemed more out of left-field: Ethan's sudden decision to save Debbie or Debbie's sudden ecstatic desire to be saved. Probably watching it again I'd find better context for these moments.

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