The Lonely Man DVD - Classic Western Movie with Jack Palance | Perfect for Movie Nights & Western Film Collections

What an unexpected gem! Beautiful B&W cinematography, very well restored, is key in the telling of the story, from bright open outdoor locations rounded by crisp snow-topped mountains and dazzlingly white horses to moody saloon interiors, plunged in almost complete darkness or illuminated by flames. The film has a dramatic sense of setting that is integral to its plot. Thematically, it's archetypal--a gunslinger tries to retire to a pastoral life but his past will not let go. Jack Palance gives a moving and nuanced performance, sensitively managing to communicate the longing and regret beneath an embittered stoic exterior. Anthony Perkins (5 years before _Psycho_) gives a coltish performance that transitions from the sullenly resentful to a (very persuasive) hesitant embrace of love and communication. Interestingly, Palance was just 12 years older than Perkins. It's a sign of how strong their acting is that the father-son dynamic between them is entirely plausible. Perkins's posture and movement are pitch perfect. Other reviewers complain about the abruptness of the ending, but in the final shot, the eloquent economy with which Perkins turns and gestures with his arm is rich enough to tell us all we need to know. The horses are beautiful and the scenes with the horses are worth watching alone. Lovely as the horses are, the horse scenes work entirely to move the narrative through theme and visual metaphor. Yes, _The Lonely Man_ stays within its genre, but it's a wonderful instantiation of that genre. And hey, a theme song performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford is always additional cowboy cred.