Film/Television Review: The Virginian (2000)

The Virginian, 1902 novel by Owen Wister, is commonly considered to be the first “proper” Western novel and one of the unidsputed literary classics of the genre. As such, it was popular source of screen adaptations – five feature films between 1914 and 2014 and popular 1960s television series. In 1999 it was adapted into television film, which served as directorial debut for Bill Pullman, actor playing the title role.

The plot is set in 1885 Wyoming and begins with arrival of Molly Stark (played by Diane Lane), beautiful new schoolteacher. She is unaccustomed to the still wild and sparsely populated land and the only things she appears to like happens to be a cowboy nicknamed Virginian (played by Pullman) who works at the ranch owned by Judge Henry (played by Harris Yulin). He manages to charm her with his quiet demeanour, common sense and gentlemanly manners, despite lacking sophistication of “civilised” men in the East. They become engage, but the rough conditions of the Wild West would prove to be impediment to their happiness. Long running feud between Judge Henry and his rival Sam Balaam (played by Fritz Weaver) has escalated and Virginian is forced to take arms in order to retrieve his employer’s stolen cattle. Molly abhors violence and threatens to break engagement if he continues to take part in conflict. This isn’t the only difficult choice Virginian must make, because he soon learns that the gang of local thugs led by Trampas (played by Colm Feore) also includes his best friend Steve (played by John Savage).

Pullman apparently didn’t feel overwhelmed or too impressed for having such revered material for his directorial debut. His direction is solid, although it is quite visible that his directing skills weren’t refined. There are too many helicopter shots, although, to his credit, he puts beautiful landscapes of Alberta (Canadian province standing for Wyoming) to good use. More irritating is music soundtrack by Nathan Barr that use too many strings and doesn’t seem particularly suitable for Western epic. On the other hand, Pullman gives very realistic, down-to-Earth depiction of everyday life in the Old West. What ultimately makes this film more than watchable is very good acting. Pullman, whose career involved playing different characters ranging from supporting to protagonists, is very good as quiet protagonists who adheres to traditional values like duty and old school methods of dispensing justice. Diane Lane is charming like in her best roles. Supporting cast is also very good, which includes John Savage, one of 1970s most memorable supporting actors, here in quite moving portrayal of protagonist’s best friend. Same can be said of Dennis Weaver, one of veterans of television Westerns. The Virginian represents a good choice for all those who like well-made television films as well as those who like Western classics.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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