The Criminally Underrated Ed Harris-Directed Western That No One Saw

Ed Harris did not come on like a clear-cut leading man 44 years ago when he starred in George A. Romero's awesomely offbeat "Knightriders," but there was something about the balding 32-year-old actor with the piercing, Paul Newman-esque blue eyes that commanded your attention. He could be steely, tender, and a bit of a goof. These qualities continued to be evident in films like "The Right Stuff," "Alamo Bay," and "Sweet Dreams," so he finally got a chance to co-anchor a massive Hollywood production in 1989 with James Cameron's "The Abyss." He aced the assignment (as did his co-star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), but the film underperformed at the box office (even though it's still the best thing Cameron's ever directed), so he became more of a character actor throughout the 1990s while he personally developed his next leading role.

Harris made his directorial debut with "Pollock," a biopic about the revolutionary abstract painter Jackson Pollock, and gave a fiercely committed performance that more than justified the 10 years he spent trying to bring the project to the screen. As a filmmaker, Harris brought a humming intensity to his exploration of a difficult-to-crack artist. It wasn't a film that flaunted dazzling cinematic technique, but it did put you on the wavelength of a man who seemed to vomit out his inner turmoil onto the canvas. Though "Pollock" does obey certain hoary biopic conventions, Harris' pulsating energy in front of and behind the camera set it apart from other films of its genre.

When he received a Best Actor nomination for "Pollock," those of us who'd come to revere Harris as one of the most interesting movie stars of his era had high hopes that he'd keep generating lead parts for himself while continuing to do his immensely satisfying character actor thing in big Hollywood movies. He made good on the latter but didn't step behind the camera again until 2008. For whatever reason, despite receiving mostly good reviews (it holds a 77% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes), that second directorial effort has been completely forgotten.

Amazingly, despite possessing a finely weathered visage and occasionally gruff demeanor, Harris had never appeared in a traditional Western before he directed an adaptation of Robert B. Parker's "Appaloosa." About 10 minutes into the movie, you realize he was positively born to the genre, both as an actor and a filmmaker.

The film is a straightforward yarn about a couple of freelancing lawmen, Harris and Viggo Mortensen (an odd "A History of Violence" reunion), who hire themselves out to towns in danger of being overrun by a criminal element. At the outset of the film, Harris and Mortensen find themselves setting up shop in the titular town, which is being terrorized by a vicious rancher (a deliciously wicked Jeremy Irons) who believes he's above the law. It's a conventionally plotted tale bolstered by a solidly structured screenplay from Harris and Robert Knott, but it stands out from other modern Westerns because Harris devotes a little extra time to the development of each pivotal character.

Harris and Mortensen are perfectly paired as a couple of old peacekeepers who are maybe reaching the end of their usefulness. They certainly can't keep cleaning up towns for much longer, so when Harris' sheriff falls head over heels for a fiercely independent widowed musician (Renée Zellweger), he's hearing wedding bells. Harris and Zellweger are terrific in their scenes together, which leaves you wishing they'd hook up again.