DeeDee-10

Having been a Willem Dafoe fan for several years, I was more than pleasantly surprised to see his amazing performance in this film. There were some priceless moments in which Dafoe made the art of acting appear effortless. This is pure joy for a film fan. Sarandon was superb in a role which I think was a departure for her. Still, she brought intelligence, command, and a delightful wackiness to Ann. I disliked the score so much that I basically ignored it. The presence of these two commanding actors, Dafoe and Sarandon, plus other notables in the cast, convinced me that this will be a film I'll watch again and again, if only to see Dafoe's toothy smile!

Don't know if Christian Bale is still considered a British actor, but he was very convincing as the narcissistic, wacko American of the 80s. The film poked fun at everything that was sacred in the 80s, from banal music to itty-bitty California cuisine to self-indulgence, and more. The director must be given credit for managing to satirize the violence -note, we didn't see that much blood, and very little if any of the actual hacking, or munching (yuk!).

At the end of the film, I was left thinking -hey, what was going on here? Did he really kill those people? Is this where the "psycho" part comes in? Was he a Ralph Bundie groupie, but imagining the murders? Hints along the way, folks, don't overlook them.

Where can I start? I've heard/seen the title "Riders of the Purple Sage" for as long as I can remember, but never read the book, nor did I ever see any of the previous versions of this Zane Gray novel. It wasn't until I became a big Ed Harris fan that I started looking for more of his films, and ended up buying "Riders." I knew it was going to be good, but wow!, I couldn't have imagined it would be teriffic -by far the best western, and one of the best films, period, I've ever seen.

There is so much to this story. . . the two love stories of course; the hypocrisy of the "righteous", and the redeeming qualities of those who on the surface may appear to be "evil" or "bad guys"; the power of love between the most unlikely couples; and the spiritual power of love and trust, just for starters.

I don't know if the script was taken directly from the book, but the dialogue was magical in many scenes. Amy Madigan and Ed Harris were magical too, partly due to their personal relationship I'm sure, but their work together in this film was unforgetable. I couldn't help but notice how they kind of look alike! Common among some married couples.

The supporting cast was excellent, and the scenery unbelievable. This is one of the films I will be watching over and over again. It should be released in the theaters! See it.