Feb. 26, 2004 - 9:43 pm
i'm still working on seeing all of my Australia-related films, but i don't think i'm really lacking any of the ultra-important ones anymore. we'll see. i do have a couple of other ones planned to watch at some point...
it's hard to know for sure what the time period is for this film. i'll guess late 1800s. the movie was actually filmed in the Northern Territory around Alice Springs, but it's set in Western Australia in and around Fremantle.
Quigley (played flawlessly by Tom Selleck) is an American sharpshooter who comes to Australia by request for a job shooting dingoes off of a rancher's property. he finds when he arrives that the rancher is actually a sort of old west mob boss who leads a pack of thugs who are trying to kill off the local aboriginal population. because they often can't pick off some of the stragglers, they've hired a sharpshooter to basically kill the far off aboriginals. Quigley is a very principled man and is unwilling to do any killing for this man, especially of innocent people. he instead throws the rancher (Alan Rickman) out through the window of his own house and becomes the enemy of the gang. eventually, after seeing enough bloodshed, he decides to take them all on and destroy the gang.
nearly all features of this movie I loved. i've missed seeing Tom Selleck doing anything prominent for the past 15 years or so because he really is a fine actor. i also enjoyed all points leading to Australia of course. and the classic western plot, refreshed with a change of scenery is masterfully written and performed. it's a fun movie and one that i think people will enjoy, even if they're not normally fans of westerns. i might have to buy this one.