The Journeyman

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.

This is a vastly underrated film. The storyline and the location shots in Texas are excellent, and I think Brad Hunt makes one of the most sinister villains I've ever seen in a Western.

Watched it at least a half dozen times....

Despite his horrible actions, you can't help but feel sorry for The Morphinist and find yourself pulling for him in the final scene. It's easy to see how such people are created or made in society, molded by the things that happen to them in their youth.

If you like old spaghetti westerns, you'll like this. Many of the scenes remind me of A Few Dollars More or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

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.

I thought I was in for a good movie.

I'd just watched Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner in Open Range, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and was looking forward to another "gritty and violent" movie.

About the only thing gritty was my gritted teeth when it finally finished.

The two main actors I'd best describe as wooden. The rest of the cast, with the exception of Barry Corbin, couldn't decide whether they were in a dark western or a comedy.

Not a movie I can recommend.

Rate this Western film as terrible! It is a "B" movie at best. The storyline is just moronic. The flashback which comes too late in the film attempts to bring this confusing tale together. What was James Crowley, (writer and director) thinking about? What's the point of having one of the characters being a transvestite? The story jumps thirteen years with no explanation of how the characters developed into what they are. James Crowley never gives an explanation as to why the main character (Morphinist) became a cold-blooded killer. What is the purpose of the character role that Dash Mihok plays as the double-crossed bank robber, and why is it important in this film? You can drive a Mack truck through the gaps of continuity in this film. Crowley had better try his hand at something else. Westerns are definitely not his genre. Boring would be the best way to describe this mess. The feeling you get after watching this movie is: …why did I sit through this? Trust me, just skip this one.