Feminist anti-western counterpoint to Lonesome Dove
This is in counterpoint, rather than a sequel, to Lonesome Dove. In LD, we were presented with the charming superman Augustus Mcrae, every inch the traditional Texas ranger hero. Here, the supposed heroes are the elderly autistic Texas ranger Call (James Garner) and his sidekick Pea Eye (Sam Shephard), who is woefully subservient to both Call and his wife Lorena (Sissy Spacek). The limitations of their characters deliberately robs these two great actors of their trademark charm. A teenage Mexican killer, Joey Garza, is shown to be their superior in both strategy and tracking, and their pursuit is so slow that these main protagonists are over-shadowed by two middle-aged women: Joey's mother and Lorena, both of whom make successful solo journeys to help or rescue their men folk. Other unsympathetic portrayals of white men include incompetent railroad operatives, Lorena's old pimp, a racist and unjust sherriff, the arbitrary justice and incompetence of Judge Roy Bean, the ruthless killer John Wesley Hardin, and the child-burner Mox mox. The final emasculation comes when Call's leg is shot off, and is only joy is the compney of a simple blind Mexican girl, Joey's sister. This anti-western is made watchable by fine performances, despite the meandering plot.