The Ballad Of Lefty Brown

Nobody seems to think much of Lefty Brown (Bill Pullman), least of all Laura (Kathy Baker), the wife of Edward (Peter Fonda), his longtime partner on the range and ranch. As a duo the two are formidable, as is Edward's sense of frontier justice; on his own, however, Lefty is in shambles. He's about to be left behind by Edward, who has just been elected to the U.S. Senate from the new state of Montana.

Then a couple of horse thieves make off with some of Edward's animals. When he gives chase, they gun down the senator-elect. Lefty survives and swears revenge, even though the grieving Laura doesn't give the idea much credence. When Lefty addles up and rides out after the horse thieves, though, it's into an adventure of new alliances and unimaginable betrayals that involve everyone from a notorious outlaw named Frank (Joe Anderson) and his no-good gang, to a deeply conflicted and alcoholic U.S. Marshall (Tommy Flanagan), to a green and eager teenager called Jeremiah (Diego Josef), to the governor of Montana himself (Jim Cavaziel).

The year is 1889, and the movie, written and directed by Jared Moshe, is "The Ballad of Lefty Brown." Pulpy through and through, uneven in mood and pacing, littered with narrative thin spots, and sometimes outright tone-deaf, this is one ballad you won't be whistling. While you're watching, though, you'll probably enjoy the Montana locations and David McFarland's cinematography - as we're given to understand by the appearance, early on, of the Kodak logo - on real, honest to goodness film.

Pullman has a wonderful time limping, cursing, and deploying his "old West old codger" voice. The rest of the cast seems to enjoy the knotty thriller-esque plotting, which is rife with swerves and twists, none of them overly clever. Even Joe Anderson seems to relish a chance for some villainous deeds. The only ones not having fun every minute are the audience, but at least the movie isn't boring. Your eyes will roll, but your thumbs won't twiddle.

The Blu-ray edition offers some standard extras. There are a couple of celebratory featurettes, one of them "Bringing the Truth to Myth," which is about the movie's characters, and the other all about "Designing the Look of 'The Ballad of Lefty Brown.'" There's also an audio commentary track with Moshe and Pullman.

"The Ballad of Lefty Brown"
Blu-ray
$19.99
Buy it here