Coyote Waits

This was my first Hillerman experience. Maybe the slowness of the beginning is necessary, but I was wanting to check out. It got better towards the end with several interesting twists that I was glad I stayed for. I enjoyed seeing the area of the reservation (or 'rez' as they say in the movie) and hearing a bit of American Indian mythology and stories. No special effects, just good acting and a good story.

Based on a Tony Hillerman novel, "Coyote Waits" brings back characters familiar to viewers of "Skinwalkers" and 1991's "Dark Wind", which starred Fred Ward and Lou Diamond Phillips. If you have not seen the previous films, you can still enjoy "Coyote Waits" for its own sake.

Adam Beach reprises his "Skinwalkers" role as "Jim Chee", alongside other "Skinwalkers" veterans, Sheila Tousey, and Wes Studi. None of the three are actually Navajo, though they are Native American. Personally I think casting should be based on the best actor for the part, and would have liked to see Phillips reprise his role. Beach is not a Navajo either and is still learning his craft; Phillips is a seasoned veteran. (Before folks get upset let me say this, tribal background should be taken in account when casting Native American roles. It is insulting to insist the tribes are interchangeable. Recall how silly it was for a Swedish accented actor to play a Frenchman in "Good Will Hunting"? It is the same point here.)

Presented in letterbox format, the scenery is at once mystical, isolating and all-encompassing. The production values lift it above "made for tv" status. The language, mild by todays standards, does use the popular term for excrement several times, but not gratuitously. The scenery is beautiful. The picture-postcard-blue of one scene's sky is so beautiful it brings a tear to the eye.

The plot is not as meaty as it could have been and some roles could have been eliminated without too much loss to the whole.

The intentions are good but there comes a time when intentions should be removed from the equation. "Coyote Waits" is not as fulfilling as it could have been, regardless of its intentions.

The second American Mystery! Special from a Tony Hillerman book, that basically picks up where the first one ended. Praise should be given to the producers of Mystery!, the ones who listened to the American audience when it begged for stories from American writers that were set in America.

Both Adam Beech and Wes Studi reprise their roles as lawmen, seeking truth this time about an unlikely murderer and the crime he supposedly committed. The struggle between mythology and law continues in this movie as Adam Beech's character, Jim Chee, has to deal with doubt and remorse, and Joe Leaphorn, played again by Wes Studi, reluctantly seeks positive proof about the reservation murder.

Robert Redford also lends his name again as Executive Producer, thus ensuring the unchanged production value. There is no doubt that the next movie, due to air in Spring of 2004, will exceed its predecessors in taut, mysterious entertainment.

Was pleasantly surprised with this film as a friend who contributes to public television recommended it to me. Since the movie started at 2 a.m. my hopes initially was that the film would be a dud and I could go to bed. Instead this film has me wanting to purchase it to view again and possibly add the initial film Skinwalkers along with the purchase. The Tony Hillerman novels will also be purchased for a good read as well.

For me, fortunately the pace and structure of the movie was outstanding in this CSI laden era of mystery. The back and forth development of the case was to me intriguing and provided enough information to get you involved but not to much information to stop your personal hunt to figure out who committed the crimes.

There was enough personal concern for Adam Beach's character Jim Chee to strive for the resolution of this mystery. From time to time it is nice to see a Movie/TV cop solve a crime because it is the right thing to do without car chases or autopsy scenes shocking your senses.

My wife and I TiVo'd this and watched it yesterday. I'd been looking forward to seeing it since I first saw it advertised a month ago. I had no idea there was another made-for-TV movie using the same actors, and thought this was the first. I'm glad to hear it won't be the last.

Not having read the book, I thought this was a decent film, though it could have been better. While it's nice they cast real natives in the major roles, I thought it was pretty strange that not a single person looked Navajo. Given the huge number of people in this country with Navajo ancestry, I'm surprised Redford couldn't find one or two he thought could act well enough to carry a made-for-TV movie. And half the scenes didn't look to me like they were shot anywhere near the Navajo Nation, though I admit it's a big place that no one could know all of. Finally, too many of the characters came across as stereotypes. I've only read one Hillerman novel, so I don't know if that's due to the original novel or the screenplay or the directing.

All that said, it was a decent couple hours of entertainment, and I'll watch upcoming episodes, though I'm definitely not rushing out to buy the DVD.