There is promise in this movie however it wasn't kept to the viewer. I will salute the Director for working well with cattle, dust and locations issues but I am wondering what the main actors were thinking at times. Is this a Western, comedy or drama? It dabbles a little too much in all three and it doesn't for those reasons become its full potential. There is a scene in the movie where a man makes $50k the equivalent of 1.5 million today and that concept is totally mistreated, disrespected and wasted here not only by the players involved but by the South coming into possession of it. It, for instance is not wasted in Gone with the Wind where Rhett Butler makes a fortune in similar ways. Rhett become mega-wealthy, and the storyline built around it. Not so here. Also, the movie promotes whiskey, women and wealth as the pay-off for all the hard work and sacrifices. Really? Kinda shallow methinks. How about some dialog about buying a ranch, raising crop or cows or starting a business? Why not rebuild some of the fallen South too such as schools, roads, factories? This would have given the movie and the characters depth, meaning & purpose. Worth watching but not a comeback experience. I expected more from this.
Review of Alvarez Kelly
