I had seen this movie years ago and wanted to watch but never had a chance. I must say it is indeed quite different than i imagined it to be. I thought it might perhaps be a western. Boy was I wrong. It seems to be in a mystical, almost medieval place created by Heston's character, Silas McGee. Kim Basinger is okay but her part really isn't anything to write home about. Charlton Heston is great, as is John Marley, and this movie could have been great too, except that it focuses on Mancuso, who stinks it up royally. In almost every scene he is in, which is almost every scene in the movie, he comes off like a smart ass punk kid, sort of a juvenile Chevy Chase. I don't understand why they made his role like that, but for me it detracted from things greatly. And it made for weird chemistry with Basinger. Poor girl. The movie was filmed in British Columbia. Some of the forest scenes reminded me of the movie Thale, which was filmed in Norway. All the pieces to a great movie are here, but it stumbles a bit in places and doesn't deliver a complete package, add in the Mancuso factor, and it comes up as a near miss. But they were onto something with Heston. I wouldn't say Basinger was totally wasted, but again, too much Mancuso and not enough Kim.
Review of Mother Lode
