Quigley der Australier

Lately I've come to the conclusion that the role Tom Selleck was born to play he was born too late in the world to play: the noble cowboy.

Tom plays the title character, Matthew Quigley, an American cowboy come to the land down under at Alan Rickman's invitation. Rickman (under used here)intends to use Quigley's abilities as a long distance sharpshooter to kill the Aborigines and keep them off his lands. Tom refuses and a battle of wills ensue as the two men try to kill each other and cause a lot of havoc in the process.

Despite a first rate performance by Tom, possibly his best, and critical praise, the film was ignored at the box office. I imagine that had it starred the likes of Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson or Tom Cruise it would have been a hit, but Tom serves the film well and he looks good in cowboy garb. Besides, it's an interesting idea of taking the cowboy out of his natural environment and placing him in a variation of his natural environment: the outback.

Underseen western which , after a few theatrical misfires (though I also enjoyed him in High Road to China), gave Tom Selleck a role which suited him perfectly. A role which, as a previous comment stated, John Wayne would have been right at home in. It can be argued that this is just a politically correct revisionist western wherein the American witnesses injustices on aborginals in a foreign land and is outraged to action despite the utter mistreatment of native Indians during this same period back home. Some may say it is so, but I prefer to think of Quigley as a man who came to Australia BECAUSE of the injustices he's known back home and is looking perhaps for something better. Selleck represents, as did John Wayne, the decent and noble side of America, and there is no doubt that this is a man given to stand up and do the right thing no matter where he is, Wyoming or Fremantle.

This aside, Quigley succeeds most as a light romance amidst the traditional shoot em up scenario. In fact, the love story is what drives it along most and provides it's most special moments. During a heartfelt speech beside the campfire, Cora relates how heartbreaking it was for her to have her Husband Roy, who blamed her for the death of their child, put her on a ship to Australia and walk away from her life not looking back. This is what matters to her most, as it matters to Quigley that she call him by his right name or he won't share his bed. When presented with their first parting, Quigley leaves Cora and the Aborigine baby in the cave and though assuring her he will return for her he rides away, without stopping to look back.

This is mere oversight on his part and it leads to the most moving scene in the film, one which never fails to bring a tear to my eye - when they are again about to be parted she asks him "I'll never see you again, Will I". He can't say because of what's ahead for him, but he puts his hand on her cheek and says "You sure look pretty in the morning sun". As he mounts his horse and rides off Cora watches after him wondering, as we are wondering, if he'll stop and look back. And then he does. It's one of the most thoughtful and emotionally fleeting moments in movie history. Too bad it hasn't been seen and appreciated by more people.

The musical score, by Basil Poledouris, is also a treat and it hits all the right notes. His score for Conan the Barbarian is an acknowledged classic but here I think he goes a step better. It truly is a nice piece of music to hear amid the action and quieter moments.

Quigley is a very good modern day western. It won't fail to entertain and it must surely be a film which both men and women can enjoy together. If they made more of these kinds of movies I definitely wouldn't complain.

Those who haven't grown up with Wayne or Eastwood should take a fair glance at QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER, an excellent recreation of vintage cowboy movies with brilliant qualities that make a traditional standard among others. With modern styling, this will grow on you if Westerns haven't been your brand. It deserves high merits for top-notch costuming, make-up, and scenery that gets all dusty and brown. Acting is extremely well done, considering the late stage it's in. "Crazy Cora" is a cheerful rendition to lady-pokes everywhere in Western cinema, and one who keeps calling "Roy" all the time, plus Tom Selleck shows us what a true cowboy should be like. The orchestrated music will stick to your mind in years to come. One familiar old problem that Westerns would normally have is being more like the rest of them, but then again, this film provides testimony that there is great need of reviving the Western genre, which would still be hard to appease today. Highly recommended!

Unlike most "modern" westerns, this one is unburdened by the usual Hollywood flaws: overproduction, overacting and a massive cast of big names demanding their share of "face time." Selleck & San Giacomo do a masterful job of creating honest, three-dimensional characters facing a truly evil antagonist -- a part played with fiendish perfection by the superb Alan Rickman. Even the minor characters on both sides are well-cast and well-acted. Two other "stars" of this exceptionally fine film are Quigley's Sharps rifle and the musical score. The unusual, catchy theme will stick in your mind, and some of the dialogue will pass into screen legend, such as Quigley's remark about the Colt revolvers: "I said I didn't have much use for them. I never said I didn't know how to use one." To be sure, the writers take a few necessary liberties with the plot to make everything work, as in any movie, but it does work well. My wife, who is a gun enthusiast but not a big fan of westerns, has watched "Quigley" 7 or 8 times and never tires of it. There are a few films that will bear watching that often: The Usual Suspects, All About Eve, High Noon, Casablanca -- to name a few. Quigley is one of these.

The sad thing about Quigley Down Under is that had this been done thirty years earlier the film would have warranted a major release the way a John Wayne or a James Stewart western would have had. Personally when I look at Tom Selleck and the way he plays the title character, I think James Garner. Selleck plays Matthew Quigley in the same dry, laconic manner that Garner patented.

This western is about as southwest as you can get without dealing with penguins and icebergs. Selleck has come to western Australia in answer to an advertisement by a local rancher requiring a skilled marksman with a rifle. He takes the three month voyage from San Francisco and arrives at Alan Rickman's local Ponderosa.

Remember this is Australia, a place settled by convict labor. On Rickman's spread it's mostly Scotch and Irish. But Rickman's problem isn't with them, it's with the aborigines.

Which brings us to why he wants Selleck's services with a long rifle. Essentially he wants Selleck to hunt them down and kill them at a distance, a bit of ethnic cleansing.

Fighting Indians was up close and personal at times. But just shooting people down like game, rubs Selleck the wrong way. He tells Rickman no with vigor. And that vigorous no gets Selleck and Laura San Giacomo a woman not playing with a full deck beaten up and thrown out in the outback with no means of survival.

Of course they survive and we learn a lot about San Giacomo. The reason for her insanity, it's more of a defense mechanism to keep out the world, because she's done something terrible that her conscience won't leave alone. It's a beautiful performance, probably the acting highlight of Quigley Down Under.

Of course there's plenty of action to satisfy any western fan on any continent. Alan Rickman is an especially loathsome villain, he makes his Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood film look like a Girl Scout.

And the aborigines do learn to appreciate Selleck and the payback he exacts. They come through for him at critical times in the film.

Tom Selleck is a perfectly cast western hero, the kind I used to spend Saturday afternoon's watching.