(Drama; HBO, Sat. April 17, 9 p.m.)Filmed in Calgary by New Crime Production in association with River One Films and John Badham Film. Executive producers, John Cusack, Steve Pink, John C. McGinley, Thomas J. Mangan; producer, Kevin Reidy; co-producer, D.V. DeVincentis; associate producers, Doug Dearth, Bill Githens, Cammie Crier; director, John Badham; writer, Dick Cusack.
Myrl Redding..... John CusackJudge Tolliver ..... John GoodmanHenry Ballard ..... L.Q. JonesCora..... Miranda OttoWoody ..... John McGinleySlater ..... John SavageBilly.....Rodney A. GrantAttorney General Gunby.....Jay O. SandersGovernor ..... Scott WilsonCage ..... Drake BellOllie..... Nick BillieColonel Jeffries ..... Glen MorshowerJudge Wilkins ..... Ken Pogue
Turning a Saxon morality play into a Western helmed by John Badham sounds like an interesting idea. Having playwright Dick Cusack write it with his son, the talented John Cusack, starring in it, is a stroke of genius. Yet, the HBO original film "The Jack Bull" never transcends its impressive pedigree, offering few challenging or new concepts in an artistic package.The title of the film, taken from the notion that a Jack Russell terrier would just as soon have its head cut off as release its jaw from a victim, sets the tone for a story about defining the law in a lawless place. Based on a Saxon chronicle that later served as the basis for the 19th century German tale "Michael Kohlhaas," "The Jack Bull" is a look at how the best of intentions can have the worst of results.John Cusack stars as Myrl Redding, a horse trader who locks horns with wealthy landowner Henry Ballard (L.Q. Jones) over Wyoming's impending statehood. Their minor disagreement escalates when Myrl is forced to pay a toll to cross Ballard's land. Not having the money to pay the toll, Myrl leaves two of his stallions as a gesture of good faith.Myrl returns days later to find his animals beaten and unable to walk. His friend and fellow horseman, Billy (Rodney A. Grant), who stayed to take care of the horses, was also beaten and run off under threat of death. At first, Myrl tries a series of legal options, but Ballard has most of the local judges in his back pocket. Feeling he has no recourse, Myrl sells his farm to finance a vigilante posse to hunt Ballard down and make him pay for his actions.The notion of fighting for what you believe to be right is a complex issue that too often is used as an excuse for gratuitous violence, especially in Westerns. Badham and the Cusacks avoid that pitfall by offering a number of characters representing various points of view. But trying to justify Myrl's behavior, which nearly reduces him to the tyranny he's fighting against, is a sticky issue, and the consequences of his actions aren't focused on as much as is the strength of his conviction.With this unwavering sense of justice comes pride, which inhibits Myrl from realizing that strength can mean having the will power to endure as well as to conquer.Cusack's dark looks and brooding nature are a perfect fit for Myrl, but the few attempts to give him true depth of character are cut short by the script. The older Cusack took great pains to detail accurately the ethnic diversity of early 1800s Wyoming, but, like so many films of the Western genre, women play only an ornamental role.Miranda Otto as Myrl's loving wife Cora is killed off in the first half hour of the film, and, without Cora around, Myrl is a free to be as nasty as he wants. Their son is also shipped off to the neighbors so Myrl can pursue his vigilante quest unfettered. The few family scenes with everyone intact are the briefest in the film, yet it's the interaction with these characters that gives Myrl any real soul.Jones as Ballard couldn't be more stereotypical if he had a handlebar mustache and black cape. He is too quickly reduced from powerful mogul to sniveling weasel. If he were truly that shallow a character, it shouldn't have cost Myrl so much of his own psyche to confront him. John Savage as Slater, Ballard's evil-to-the-core henchman, also plays it too over-the-top.The real harbinger of justice in Cusack's story is Judge Tolliver (John Goodman in an outstanding performance), the only person who is able to look fairly at the events unfolding. Tolliver respects the law but can see beyond its limits, and he recognizes the path that Myrl's case could have taken if the law and many of his associates hadn't failed Myrl.Ultimately, Badham presents a visual treat, juxtaposing cinematographer Gale Tattersall's beautiful vistas against dark and gritty images of life on the frontier. Badham also shows restraint in the requisite shoot-'em-up scenes but unfortunately lingers rather ghoulishly on a final death scene.The production value matches that of any theatrical film, with special note to Rick Roberts' detailed set.
Camera, Gale Tattersall; music, Lennie Niehaus; editor, Frank Morriss; production designer, Rick Roberts; costume designer, Ha Ngyuen; casting, Carol Lewis, Stuart Akins. 120 MIN.
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Date in print: Wed., Apr. 14, 1999