Film Review: The Outlaw Josey Wales (dir. C. Eastwood, 1976)

Some readers of this blog have argued that this is the best Clint Eastwood movie. I apologize, in advance, for the following statement: This isn't even the second-best Clint Eastwood-directed movie. That would be Million-Dollar Baby (2004), behind Unforgiven (1992). Although this is a close question; Eastwood has directed a number of great movies. He may be the least appreciated director of his generation.

This is not to say that The Outlaw Josey Wales is not an excellent movie. My problem is that the screenplay is a bit heavy-handed in parts. For example, do we really need to see the slaughter of Josey Wales's family? Couldn't that have been achieved through flashbacks, rather than presented before the montage of Civil War battles? Think of the movie starting about ten or fifteen minutes into the movie. It's a better movie. Leave Josey's motivations a bit of a mystery, at least for a while. In this telling, Josey is not mysterious, at all. And do we really need quite so many hangers-on? I mean, Granny, Sandra Locke, the folks from Santo Rio, the Cherokee Chief, the Navajo woman . . . it seems like the screenplay really wants us to get that Josey has a heart. Um, I think you could do this with less. (Again, you could cut about ten minutes of the screenplay by omitting one of Josey's charity cases.

Plus, I think that, again, the screenplay disappoints in the final shoot out. Clearly, the film has to end with a shoot-out with Terrill, the leader of the "redlegs" who killed Josey Wales's family. But there isn't really a mano a mano shootout; instead, there's Josey Wales against, what, eight men? The film suffers from this one man against many conceit. Josey Wales defeats multiple assailants, time and time again. Again, I get it. He's got the skillz to out-shoot ten men. But do we have to be shown this, again and again?

Then, no shoot-out/showdown with former comrade (and turncoat) Fletcher, played very well by Dean Wormer, er, John Vernon. I guess this could be seen as a twist ending. Indeed, the film ends in a weird posture. Will Josey Wales survive his wounds? If so, then what? If he doesn't survive, what about his (off-screen) death?

Let me say what I like about this movie. Eastwood is great, both as an actor and as a director. Few false notes in the entire picture; the problems are more screenplay than director/acting. The film is shot very darkly. (Btw, the DVD version is amazing. A beautiful digital transfer that makes the movie look like it had a 2004 release date.) This is an interesting choice, emphasizing how dark the subject-matter of the film is. (Of course, one might argue that the film could be a little darker, in terms of story, but that's just my taste.) Plus, the movie has an interesting anti-war message, made pretty plain by Eastwood's introduction on the DVD.

I know that this wasn't a full review. No plot synopsis. Sorry. I guess you'll just have to watch the movie. Which you should do.