The Journeyman

If you like westerns I would give this one a go on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do.

At points over acted, and quite cheesy, it grinds along without much character development. This point makes me kinda sad, because there are some very interesting characters that would draw you in if you simply knew more about them. The story itself isn't really that original, but what do you expect in this genre.

Not even in the top 200 westerns of all time :) but it is good enough to fill that "I wanna watch a new western" itch if you haven't seen it yet. Only for western superfans.

Overall I say 4/10.

This is no gussied up Western. Everyone and everything seems to be coated with a fine layer of dust. It portrays a rather bleak, spare environment with its characters manifesting a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" attitude.

What should have been the strong core of the movie proves to be its greatest weakness -- the two brothers and their relationship. Neither is developed beyond a shell. There is no one to root for in this film. Even an anti-hero has at least one redeeming quality to gain our sympathy but the title character has none. The minor characters are more fully realized and "human."

Did I mention the violence? More ammunition is expended here than in the entire Afghan conflict.

If you like your westerns gritty and violent, this will be right up your alley. I loved it!

The story of two brothers who end up raised in totally different ways is not like any other western you'll ever see, but that's what makes it so enthralling.

It's always fun to watch character actors like Barry Corbin and Burton Gilliam, and they are both great in this film.

The real star of the film is Brad Hunt. His acting is the kind that makes us all want to take note of his name. If there is any justice at all, Hunt will become a big star. He's that good.

If you don't like violent westerns, you may want to skip this one (it makes Unforgiven look like a bright ray of sunshine, by comparison), but otherwise, you owe it to yourself to see it, if nothing else, to see Brad Hunt's sensational performance.

This was a very good film. It is very direct and straight forward with its editing and continuity as well as its haunting sense of realism. The period styling is very gritty and yet also very colorful (many Westerns filmmakers seem to think that there was nothing but washed out colors in the late 1800s). The two main characters are The Morphinist and The Journeyman--two brothers separated at an early age. They meet once again at the climax, which is a well choreographed shoot-out in a graveyard. The drug addicted cowboy, The Morphinist, has some very cool lines such as: "People always remember evil long after they've forgotten good." The character of Walter P. Higgs III is very interesting and (for me) very funny. Walter is sad when Frank the Thief dies (betrayed by the Morphainist), and he is redeemed by the end of the film. I found myself rooting for Walter all throughout the film. The path of death that the Morphinist leaves in his drug induced wake makes him seem unredeemable, but when he weakly grasps the crucifix that the Journeyman places in his near dead hands at the end of the film we know that he too has suffered and needs compassion. But, only his brother could save him, or redeem him. This is among the best Westerns of the past ten years, and certainly ranks up there with Wild Bill, Tombstone, and Unforgiven.

I saw this around the time it came out and watched it multiple times. Every few years I try to find it again to rewatch it and finally it showed up on Amazon.

There's a real nice tension throughout the film and I like the way the information in the back story unfolds in bits and pieces.

I found the story and characters quite interesting and the music good. There's not much black and white to be found in this film. All the charaters have their good and not so good, and really bad, and you find yourself not sure who to root for. (My favorite kind of film!)

I'm guessing from the credits that this was funded by asking everyone the writer/directer knew to chip in a little money, which means you've gotta deliver a solid product or you'll disappoint all your loved ones and I think James Crowley delivered a solid product.

I also simply enjoyed the scenery and livestock.