Hombre

"“She said she couldn't eat a dog, no matter how hungry she was..... Go ask her if she'd eat a dog now." This is a thorny, unorthodox western that never gives you the moments you think you’ve earned. It’s based off a novel by Elmore Leonard, whose writing was also adapted into 3:10 to Yuma and the Tall T, early in his career, before he became the biggest crime novelist of the latter half of the 20th century. Paul Newman is in the lead, as a man who was raised by Native Americans and has shunned “polite society”. He ends up on a stage coach with strange menagerie of travelers including a scenery chewing Richard Boone and a feisty but desperate Diane Cilento. The trip does not go as planned and Newman has to save the group from bandits. However, even after they are saved, they are constantly pulling in different directions as lingering resentments and differing objectives and perspectives create friction between them. The film spends the first 40 minutes building the characters and their relationships. This gives the last hour the gravity it needs because you can understand the different perspectives. This isn’t as crowd pleasing as Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid or as visceral as The Wild Bunch but it is unique western with well crafted characters. 4 out of 5 Stars "