Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Hi-Lo Country (1998)
Director: Stephen Frears
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Peckinpah toyed with adapting this 1961 novel by Max Evans: it echoes all those end-of-the-Old-West stories about taciturn men caught out by changing times. Two ex-GIs come home to the Midwest after WWII to find that old girlfriends have married other people and that cattle ranching has gone corporate. The big economic issues hang in the background, clouding the thoughts of 'Big Boy' Matson (Harrelson, wearyingly laddish) and his introverted friend Pete Calder (Crudup, excellent), but the story ultimately boils down to a display of emotional grandstanding, featuring adultery, jealousy, sibling rivalry and blood. Frears and Stapleton deliver an impeccably crafted film, but it's at best a polished retro item. Time and the Marlboro man have done for the kind of awe John Ford and others once conjured from expansive images of cattle drives across the big country.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Stephen Frears
Producer: Barbara De Fina, Martin Scorsese, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Patricia Arquette, Cole Hauser, Katy Jurado, Sam Elliott full cast
Duration: 114 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now