Far and Away (1992)
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
CAST: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson, Robert Prosky, Barbara Babcock, Colm Meaney
REVIEW:
For his latest venture, Ron Howard has chosen to tackle a romantic period epic, the lavishly-mounted, if narratively formulaic, Far and Away. How much appreciation one gets out of the proceedings probably depends on how much it sweeps along one’s inner romantic, but for those who fall into that category, Far and Away is a sumptuous, sweeping romantic adventure.
After a short opening narrative blurb informs us with portentous solemnity that poor Irish farmers are beginning to rebel against the steep rents and cruel methods of their wealthy landlords, we open in Ireland in 1892, where an elderly farmer’s funeral is rudely interrupted by an eviction notice slapped down on his casket and his house summarily burned. His son Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) vows vengeance against the landlord Daniel Christie (Robert Prosky), but proves a bumbling would-be assassin, managing only to get himself stabbed in the leg with a pitchfork by the landlord’s tempestuous daughter Shannon (Nicole Kidman) and knocked out by his own gun blowing up in his face. Joseph is narrowly saved from a duel with his nemesis, Christie’s snobbish, house-burning overseer Stephen Chase (Thomas Gibson), when the rebellious Shannon whisks him off with her to America in pursuit of land being given away in a race in Oklahoma territory. But before they have the money to purchase supplies to make it there, they have to spend some down time in Boston, where spoiled Shannon is forced to get a menial factory job and Joseph falls in with local bigshot Mike Kelly (Colm Meaney), who sets him up with an apartment and a job and sees dollar signs when Joseph shows boxing talent. Meanwhile, in true romantic formula fashion, the bickering mismatched pair are in denial of their real feelings.
Far and Away is not a movie for cynics (some would argue it’s also not a movie for those demanding more than formulaic romantic complications). Some of the most familiar romantic tropes and cliches are well-accounted for. There’s the pair separated by social class, the bickering to mask sexual tension, the snooty rival suitor. The cutesy portrayal of the Irish verges on caricaturish, not helped by some wobbly Lucky Charms accents. But Howard and screenwriter Bob Dolman, if not winning points for originality, paint on a big-scale, lavish canvas, with lavish period details and cinematographer Mikael Salomon capturing gorgeous, sweeping panoramic shots that hearken back to old-school Hollywood epics of the ’60s like Lawrence of Arabia, and the movie does a sure-handed, engaging job of blending romance, humor, and adventure into an enjoyable whole, even if the formulaic indulgences and “will they/won’t they” melodrama might get a little eye-rolly at times. The high point is the climax of the Land Run of 1893 (a true event) that Howard spends a lot of money and effort on executing in big scale, old school, grand old Hollywood epic fashion, and it’s certainly not hard to get swept along for the thrilling and thunderously exciting sequence.
The real-life high-profile couple of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman translates effectively to the screen, with surly lowborn Joseph and haughty, tempestuous Shannon clashing in enjoyable love/hate fashion. Cruise’s accent is a little “try hard”, while Kidman’s is maybe not quite trying hard enough (it goes in and out, as do those of her onscreen parents, Robert Prosky and Barbara Babcock, while Thomas Gibson doesn’t seem to even be attempting), but accents aside, their performances are more than serviceable. Robert Prosky and Barbara Babcock provide a little comic relief as Shannon’s doddering father and stuffy mother, while Thomas Gibson, with his slicked hair, razor-sharp cheekbones, and twirl-worthy mustache, is the snobby “gentleman” suitor, with Colm Meaney providing a secondary “villain” (all things considered, Kelly might be nastier than Stephen, but his subplot is more of an extended side detour), and there’s an opening bit part for veteran Irish actor Cyril Cusack in his final film role.
If Far and Away is the kind of movie you enjoy, or if it’s the type that makes you roll your eyes, in either case you probably know who you are. I admit to finding the movie something of a guilty pleasure; I enjoy the grand old Hollywood spectacle and the breezy would-be romance, though I admit it’s not anything original. It serves up a smorgasbord of romantic tropes and melodrama, but also enough humor, romance, spectacle, and adventure to satisfy those whom this sort of thing appeals to.
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