The Lone Ranger

It is now well over 20 years since Kevin Costner reinvigorated the western when he produced and starred in the highly successful Dances with Wolves – it was a major commercial and critical success winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture.

One of the main innovations of this film was the portrayal of Native Americans by…Native Americans. Many might be surprised that this should ever have been considered so ground-breaking. Following on from this film, it was the received wisdom that never again could Hollywood revert to having Native Americans played by Caucasians. But there are exceptions to most scenarios and when you have the star power of Johnny Depp, such rules can, and will be, cavalierly ignored.

Unfortunately, Depp follows a distinguished line of actors who come a little unstuck when playing outside their own ethnicity – even Marlon Brando stumbled when playing a Japanese in The Teahouse of the August Moon. (And let’s not mention Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s).Under his heavy face make up and dead crow headpiece, the usually charismatic Depp gives an ambiguous performance as Tonto, the outcast Comanche. At times he is sagacious and taciturn as he evokes the deep spirituality perceived of the Native American. But all too often the characterisation drops and he drifts into the anachronism of present day irony with facetious one-liners and facial expressions to match.

The film itself is as equally confused as Depp’s ambiguous performance. Its central thrust deals with corrupt and duplicitous railroad executives driving their project  through Comanche country, inciting murder and tearing up contracts agreed by the trusting ‘Injuns’. However, its mix of light humour juxtaposed with scenes of mass murder, bordering on genocide, sits uncomfortably together – it was never going to mesh. Expecting an audience to laugh at a visual joke immediately after the wiping out of a settlement was always a big ask, though some in the theatre didn’t have a problem with it. But for me it jarred. Other jokes simply fell flat, others raised a smile. And this from the team of Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski who collaborated, again with Depp, on the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. This was a film that knew its niche – humorous, tongue in cheek and easy to like.

A further distraction is the film being set among the wonderful sandstone buttes of Monument Valley, inviting unfavourable comparison with the superior westerns of John Ford. But as a backdrop, it’s just about unbeatable.

The titular role of The Lone Ranger (aka John Reid) was always going to be a difficult task, awkward not to be eclipsed by Depp who was both co-producer and top billed. But Depp has generously given Armie Hammer a role larger than I thought may be the case. Sadly, this is not for the better as for the vast majority of the film he plays The Lone Ranger as a sanctimonious prig. When his inevitable transformation comes, it is far too late and equally unconvincing.

On the plus side, veteran character actor Tom Wilkinson was value for money playing the Machiavellian railroad boss Latham Cole – Tom knows how to play a villain. And little known British actor Ruth Wilson was outstanding as The Lone Ranger’s sister in law, Rebecca, playing a frontierswoman with a stoic feistiness – I hope Amy Adams was watching and takes notes for when she reprises the role of Lois Lane in the next Superman movie.

The film is an unashamed blockbuster and it has some great set-piece action pieces with probably the best ‘train falling off a bridge’ scene since The Bridge on the River Kwai. But at nearly two and a half hours duration, it is rather slow in places; much judicious editing was required.

The production values of the film can’t be faulted and the sets are wonderful. It’s just a shame that they’re wasted on such an indifferent film.

2.5 stars

Tim Meade