The Journeyman
D: James Crowley; with Willie Nelson, Brad Hunt, Daniel Lapaine, Barry Corbin. (Video, 101 min.)It takes a lot of chutzpah to make a classic Western in this go-go day and age. That The Journeyman succeeds as well as it does on its very low budget is a testament to the passion of these filmmakers. The movie is at its strongest when drawing on traditional Western touchstones — and for better or worse, The Journeyman calls to mind moments from Leone, Ford, and Peckinpah. It tells the story of two brothers in the Old West who have been separated from each other through an act of violence. One grows up to follow a religious path, the other takes up morphine and other antisocial misdeeds. Writer-director James Crowley has a gifted visual sense. His presentation of the Western vistas and dappled sunlight set-pieces are emotively rich. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the tangled storyline. The story is a jumble of confusing and insufficiently delineated characters and events, although the casting of Willie Nelson in a small role is a real coup. Morphine use, child abuse, and other hot-button topics seem unwarranted and not altogether appropriate in this Old West story. Yet the movie shows enough promise to arouse curiosity about what Crowley will do next. The Journeyman won the Audience Award for Best First-Film Narrative. (Paramount, 3/17, noon)
This article appears in March 16 • 2001.
