The Claim (2000) User Reviews

Worthy but inconsistent

[Chris_Docker · 5/10 · 10 February 2001]

Based loosely on Thomas Hardy's novel "Mayor of Casterbridge" this is a valiant recreation transposed from England to the cold mountains of early California. A man sells his wife and daughter for a gold-mining claim. Years later, when he is the local sheriff, his wife and daughter return. A sub-plot documents the arrival of the railroad construction. This has all the makings of a truly great movie but unfortunately is good without being great. The first half is particularly disappointing - the camera fails to linger where there are wonderful scenic shots of breathtaking beauty or dialogue that could have emotional impact. It lingers over boring, inconsequential scenes. The movie also veers stomach-churningly between episodes of gripping realism to episodes where it simply looks all too obviously like actors on a set reciting their lines. Verging on pretentiousness at times, The Claim still manages to pull through as a worthwhile film, largely because it is worth seeing for the bits that work well.

The movie was shot in sub-zero Calgary, Canada, and considering the lengths to which the film makers went to in order to achieve authenticity, it is sad that the finished result was rather less than finished.

THE CLAIM (Michael Winterbottom, 2000) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 21 August 2006]

This is a rare British attempt at a Western, albeit an uncharacteristic one about a small mining town clashing with the oncoming railroad: it's reasonably well served by the stark cinematography, Michael Nyman's dramatic underscoring and a surprisingly able cast (the most impressive being Peter Mullan as the town leader with a secret past and Milla Jovovich as the chanteuse who has hooked up with him).

Given the director, the film strives for absolute realism (down to the varying accents of the multi-national townspeople and the kind of entertainment provided in the dingy saloon); this, coupled with its relentless solemnity and a plot which isn't as engaging as it should be - actually containing a good deal of padding, particularly its baffling emphasis on the blossoming romance between a prospector and a prostitute - results in a rather uneasy film, one that's not remembered with affection! However, the tragic finale - with Mullan's dreams literally going up in flames - is effectively handled.

Curiously enough, watching THE CLAIM I was reminded of Nicolas Roeg's similar EUREKA (1983) - which also revolved around a family undone by the lust for gold - though it lacks that film's striking imagery (not to mention its equally distinctive eccentricity).

Deliberate Western Drama.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 13 March 2010]

It's the Old West in Canada. A young man (Peter Mullan) trades his wife (Nastasja Kinski) and baby (later to turn into Sarah Polley) for a gold mine and years later becomes the benign dictator of the town of Kingdom Come. He builds a splendid home, along the lines of a slapdash version of Mad King Ludwig's.

The railroad plans to pass by, but not through Kingdom Come. Along with the rush of people, there is Kinski, now terminally ill, and Polley, who does not know that Mullan is her father. Kinski asks for help and Mullan remarries her in what seems to be an attempt to undo the immoral act he earlier committed. Not that he's in any big hurry to get rid of his monumental stash of stone-heavy gold bars in the locked shed next to his house.

Milla Jovovich is present as one of the more prominent whores in the flourishing cat house.

You know -- whatever else this movie has or does not have -- it must be said that this is a talented line up of gorgeous babes. Kinski, Polley, and Jovovich. Murderer's Row of pulchritude. And Kinski, though now old enough to play a the mother of a grown woman, is stunning. Age cannot wither nor custom stale her. They all turn in professional performances too.

It's all pretty tragic however. It's clear that Mullan is ridden with guilt and love but Kinski's destiny is fulfilled, so he's missed out on the most fruitful time they might have spent together. He's compelled to tell Polley that he's her real father and she stalks off into the snow without a word.

Then there's that pesky railroad. Since it will run through the plain below, it leaves Mullan and his mountain empire high and dry. Everyone leaves Kingdom Come to establish the new railroad town down there -- somewhere.

It's all too much for Mullan. He burns down the town he built and consigns himself to a snowy death.

It's a very deliberately paced and realistic-looking Western. The clothes are suitably heavy and drab. The mountains are majestic and snow-veined but as cold and forbidding in their own quiet way as the people who populate the town. There is laughter and booze, but it all seems forced. Nobody's love is fully expressed. There's no operatic content.

There's a little gun play too, but this is a Canadian movie and Canadian movies are always thoughtful, slow, a little dark, and lacking in scenes in which someone's head explodes or an arm is wrenched off or an eye gouged out. I can't even think of a Canadian film in which someone visits a dentist.

I admire it for its location shooting and for the performances, however reined in they are by the script and direction. Ultimately it's a gloomy story. No one enjoys seeing someone utterly demolished in spirit on the screen, not even a miscreant like Mullan. At least he was capable of remorse.

A "Hardy" Take on the Classic Western

[gpadillo · 9 November 2004]

One of the most remarkable adaptations of a literary work I've seen. Frank Cottrell Boyce completely changes Thomas Hardy's classic The Mayor of Casterbridge - and actually betters it lifting it from its original setting and tailoring it into a tale of the American West during the Gold Rush. Some of Hardy's holes hold (predictable) difficulty for many modern readers, but Boyce's western retelling fills them in and lends strong plausibility. (There's a tad too much "faint, fall ill and die" for me in the Hardy original). Some have complained that Boyce went too far - but this is a movie "based" on the book not claiming to be a faithful retelling.

Director Michael Winterbottom proves to have an enormous eye emerging in bold style at once stylized and natural. He brings us here images that, once seen, burn, linger and haunt forever be it a Victorian mansion hauled across the frozen plains or a horse's immolation as on fire it gallops across the screen.

Winterbottom's cast is a strong one - none remaining as they initially seem, each changing before our eyes. Kinski, first strong and bitter gives one of her most tender heartbreaking performances, Wes Bentley, likable and promising becomes petty and meddlesome. Milla Jovovich serves up, predictably, hearty and hot, yet more delicate than she would like to appear.

In all of this Peter Mullan's Daniel Dillon is the focus and the fulcrum by which the story hinges. He is never less than masterful. To see him early on nearly ravaged by youthful greed then watch him in age yearn for salvation that may never come or come too late, one cannot help but be riveted by his endeavor to make up by his plight and his attempt to change it.

The Claim is a remarkable film which, while it may take a bit of time to warm up to, burns its own unique reward in a way few modern Hollywood films can.

Somewhat pretentious, but ultimately powerful.

[chrisdoc1 · 7/10 · 6 January 2001]

Probably more reminiscent of Heaven's Gate than the filmmakers would like, The Claim ultimately works much more effectively than Cimino's movie, for reasons that include Michael Winterbottom's ability to reign himself in a bit. One can almost feel the director yearning to make the movie bigger and more grandiose, but that would not be to its ultimate benefit. The first half hour is interminably boring, but the film ultimately overcomes that with a fine second half. I felt Wes Bentley was good, but may have been a bit miscast. He doesn't have the edge or mystique that one might have wanted from his character as a wandering surveyor for the railroad. Sarah Polley is excellent, and strikes an uncanny resemblance to the young Sondra Locke. Fortunately, she has more going on than Ms. Locke. The centerpiece performance really belongs to Peter Mullan. While Nastassia Kinski's role as a dying woman might give her a little more to play off of, Mullan usually has to play his role with more subtle looks. He does quite well at that. Winterbottom attempts to give this Western a very spare, haunting feel, and has mixed success. As mentioned, the first half seems to be regarded with more gravity by Winterbottom than the forward motion of the story should allow. The scene in the cabin that reveals the secret that Peter Mullan holds comes much too early, and is much too short. One misses the weight and import of this scene, simply because Peter Mullan agrees to the Faustian bargain much too soon. By the end, Winterbottom and the writer have managed to fashion a rather engrossing Western with a fairly classic feel. One feels that it would have been something Eastwood might have considered twenty-five years ago. The music is a real high point, with composer Michael Nyman using the requisite inspiration of Ennio Morricone's Once Upon a Time in the West (it is subtle, but it is there), while fashioning a haunting work in his own right. Cinematography by Alwin H. Kuchleris is tragically average. While the vistas are beautiful, and the look of the film should have been amazing, the work is too inconsistent. In the end, The Claim can be considered a flawed success. It isn't perfect, but it contains enough of value to sustain it, and the mere attempt at creating a Western of great artistic magnitude is appreciated.

Ozymandias in the Old West

[rooprect · 7/10 · 13 March 2010]

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this DVD for $4. The cover showed one of those forgettable everybody-stare-at-the-camera-and-try-to-look-cool" images, and the title itself makes it seem like a forgettable pulp novel. "The Claim". Wooooo. The only reason I bought it was because I'm a fan of Natassja Kinski.

Well, Natassja didn't really have a leading role; instead the film focused mostly on Peter Mullan as Mr. Dillon, the wealthy, powerful owner of "Kingdom Come", a small but promising town at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Although there are several interesting subplots, the story is about him, and Mullan delivers an excellent performance. He is neither good nor evil but a believable human character who is caught up in his ambition.

...which leads me to the title of my review. I highly recommend you read the short poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley before watching this film. The film itself uses it briefly in the beginning where a stage performer recites parts of it to an audience. This immediately piqued my interest, since Ozy is one of my favourite poems. As the story progressed, I realized that this injection was not trivial; the film is essentially built on the story of Ozymandias, and once you realize that, you'll be able to focus on the main theme.

As I said, there are several sub-themes that are interwoven: Milla Jovovich plays a great role of a singer who's not the "marrying type" (and by the way, she sings some great Portugese songs). Wes Bentley plays a young official for the railroad, sort of a play-by-the-rules boyscout type who is at odds with the subjective rules of the old west. Natassja is a woman slowly dying of consumption and haunted by a bitter past. Sarah Polley is her daughter, innocent and oblivious but learning quickly. They all deliver great performances with my only criticism being their accents which are a little too modern, but if you can overlook that, there's no problem.

The director used some unusual techniques which caught my attention. For one thing, when switching to dream sequences, he didn't do the stereotypical sepia tint and harp plucking to announce "hey we're going to a dream sequence". It may confuse you at first, but it keeps you on your toes.

This film has a very epic feel to it, perhaps like Sergio Leone's classic "Once Upon a Time in the West", and at just under 2 hours, the length and pacing seem right. But somehow I didn't quite get as much character development as I would've wanted. I suppose that's plain math... if we have 5 main characters, that gives each one only 24 minutes. Less if you consider that the main focus is on Mullan. But perhaps upon repeated viewings, you can get more of a story on each of them.

One other criticism I have is that the musical score wasn't very dynamic. It seemed to repeat the same 2 sweeping chords over & over. Then silence. Then back to the same 2 chords. Repeat. But this is a minor criticism, and I doubt you would've even noticed it had I not said anything. Oopsie, sorry bout that. But like I said earlier, Milla's singing provides enough to impress us musically.

Overall, it's a good film and a great interpretation of Ozymandias in the Old West (again I urge you to read the poem so you may find the same beauty in the film as I did). Also if you have a Blockbuster near you, check out the used pile where you can find this for $4. Definitely worth the price.

Movie that started out slow, but ultimately was satisfying

[lingmeister · 7/10 · 20 May 2002]

Not knowing what The Claim was fully about, I jumped into the movie anyway. Throughout the first half of the movie, it moved slowly, in some ways it seemed as to present the stark and remote environment of the West, but the pace was not always replaced with atmosphere. The plot was also ambiguous and confusing, probably due to the initial cabin scene in which things were not laid out clearly, the "Claim" exchange was downplayed as almost a side thing. It was not helped by by the sudden disappearance of a beard from the old Dillon to a younger one in a flashback, at the same time a bearded Burn appears in the cabin. This lead to a lot of who was whom, who owned "Thy Kingdom Come" along other false chases based on faulty assumptions until the plot slowly unfolded.

The plot picks up later on, when we find the significance of each character and how they are intertwined with others, along with the fact that no matter what decision each person takes, it will have devastative consequences for other people. It eventually leads to the ending in which we realize how true Burns' (the original owner of the cabin) feeling was when he agreed to the swap.

The cinematography really showed the vast space there was out in the West. With ever expanding views of the mountains up close and in the distance. Blurring of the images was also used, a technique rarely used in a period piece, but it was effective viaually.

Pretentious drivel

[liscarkat · 1/10 · 11 April 2007]

Some of the things that make this a bad movie:

I. The movie is confusing, either intentionally (pretentiously) or due to ineptitude.

A. A flashback near the beginning of the movie gives no indication that it is a flashback. There's just a shot in which we see people we haven't seen before, without any verbal or stylistic suggestion that this is a scene from the past. The younger actors portraying Dillon and his wife in the flashback bear no resemblance to the actors playing the same roles in the present.

B. Although approximately twenty years have elapsed since Dillon sold his wife, he appears to have aged at least thirty years, while she has apparently aged less than ten years. The two actors portraying the woman look so close in age that either of them could have played the part in both the present and the flashbacks. That would have alleviated a small amount of confusion.

C. The two unfamiliar actors portraying Dillon and his right-hand man are approximately the same age, have the same build, are the same height, have the same style of gray beard, and wear the same style and color of clothing and hat.

II. Much of the plot and the characters' actions seem unmotivated.

A. Why does Dillon sell the woman and baby? Near the beginning of the movie, when we see him do this in a flashback, it makes a little more sense. We are led to believe that he has no more attachment to them than to hitch hikers he picked up along his way. His only description of their relationship is that he has "been dragging them across the country," and the woman barely protests. There is little or no emotion or hesitation. It's somewhat believable that he might trade them for gold. But what gives him the right to sell them? Does he own them? Much later in the movie we find out that he and the woman were married and the baby was his. Near the end of the movie, there is a vague implication that he was drunk when he sold them (although there was no hint of it in the flashback). Drunk or not, he must have been pretty angry at both of them for some reason we are never let in on.

B. Why does Dillon move his house? It seems to be no more than a gratuitous action scene to give this soporific movie a moment of liveliness (like the pointless explosion of the survey party's supply wagon).

C. Why do Dillon and many of the town's men go ballistic when the railroad engineer decides that the tracks can't go through their town? Did the railroad have a contract with them? Did the railroad owe them anything? Dillon and his men were not justified in showing up with rifles and threatening the railroad surveyors.

D. Why does Dillon murder two railroad men, and why are there no consequences to him for this brutal, pointless act? There are at least two references to a sheriff in the town, yet he never makes an appearance. No one seems to be upset at all as a result of the murders.

III. The actors use accents inconsistently. Both Dillon and Lucy sometimes have accents, and sometimes don't. Dillon, in particular, is ridiculous because at times he has almost no accent and then in the next scene he has a thick brogue that's barely understandable.

IV. Anachronistic speech. "You're full of ****!" in 1867?

V. Anachronistic hair styles.

A. All of the women in the movie, be they prostitutes or not, have stringy, badly groomed hair hanging in their eyes. Try to find a photograph from the 1860s of any woman, anywhere, of any occupation or social class (including prostitutes) with hair like that. Either a studio portrait or a candid shot. You can't.

B. Several men of the survey party have long, poorly groomed hair. This is not from the 1860s; it is left over from western movies of the early 1970s.

VI. The railroad surveyors are portrayed as semi-literate ruffians. In reality, railroad survey engineers were college-educated, literate men (and real, 19th century college).

VII. The railroad survey takes place in deep snow.

A. How do they steady their tripods on the snow?

B. They are measuring the snow surface, which, in the Sierra Nevada in winter, can be several yards deep. What use would that be? The ground surface would be incorrectly measured, and many prominent topographic features would be overlooked.

VIII. The story is set in a mining town, with a large stamp mill next to the hotel and residences where most of the action takes place, yet the mill is obviously never running and the miners seem to spend all of their time carousing and whoring. If this mill had been in use we would have heard it roaring and seen it pouring smoke night and day throughout the movie. Apparently no mining is going on at all. Only the prostitutes are employed.

IX. General implausibility.

A. A large, wood-framed house is dragged (for no apparent reason) over several hundred yards of ungraded ground, down a hill slope. When it arrives at its destination, no leveling takes place; it's just perfect the way it lands. Dillon, the owner, walks inside and there are no cracks in the walls or broken windows. Even more amazing, the tables and shelves are covered with vases of flowers, decorative pottery, and sculptures that have not tipped over.

B. Dillon sets fire to the town with a magic torch. All he has to do is tap any object, be it upholstery, wooden wall, or thick timber framing, and it instantly bursts into fully engulfing flames.

In conclusion, the evidence appears to indicate the unfortunate fact that this movie is FULL OF ****!

Haunting

[sumrrain · 10/10 · 25 April 2001]

One thing I loved about this film is also the thing that took it down a notch: The place looked so real. It did not seem like a movie set. It did not even seem like a movie, with actors saying their lines. It was more like you were eavesdropping on a town. One way they showed this was overlapping dialogue. There would be several different conversations at once. You'd catch the tail end of one, the main thrust of another, and the beginning of yet another conversation. All this contributed to make it one of the most realistic movies I've ever seen.

The disadvantage in this is that I think the director spent too much camera time on incidental dialogue, and not enough on dialogue involving the main plot. Some incredibly emotional scenes were cut short. Just when you think you're going to get hit with it, it moves to a scene where Milla is talking to Bentley about something trivial. And those shots lasted far too long. I understand that in movie making, you don't want to focus on the sentimental, because if you do, it can come out maudlin and manipulative. But in this case, I felt a little cheated.

Still...I was deeply moved by several scenes in the movie. So it wasn't devoid of all emotion. I just felt in places it could have been stronger.

Nastassja Kinski was perfect for her role, and I don't say that about her very often. She looked every bit like she could have an 18 year old daughter, and yet she was also incredibly childlike and delicate herself. And beautiful, in a pale, pathetic, used way. Actually, the best term to describe her in this movie is "haunting."

Peter Mullan was awesome. I have never seen him in anything, but I was fascinated. Milla was like an over-ripe exotic bird. She was excellent at nailing greedy desperation. As for the subplot with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley, I was not terribly moved by it. These two were not bad, but not outstanding in any way, either.

Scenery was fantastic. You know how some movies stick with you for awhile? This is one of those.

Solid

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 29 January 2011]

Set in California in the 1860's. When Dalglish(Bentley) comes to the small town of Kingdom Come to bring a railroad to it, Dillon(Mullan) must confront the terrible secret of his past, of what happened twenty years prior. I didn't know what to expect from this, and the front of the cover certainly didn't give much of a clue. Honestly, I got it(on sale) because of my seemingly never-ending crush on Milla Jovovich(I can see worlds beyond in her eyes... and for anyone else who might watch this for her, she's in it a pretty reasonable amount, and she is gorgeous, charming, and sometimes pouty and raunchy in it), and as usual, she does a great job acting(everyone in this does) and is a sight to behold. This is the only version of this story that I've seen, so I can't compare it to any other. I haven't caught anything else by this director, either. This moves at a gradual pace. It's an epic drama(complete with breathtaking scenery) set in the same time, but it is not a Western. The accents come and go. This shows how relationships and gender roles were back then. There is a bit of strong language, female nudity and sexuality in this. The DVD comes with the original theatrical trailer. I recommend this to fans of the cast and/or this genre. 7/10

Bad script, terminally dull, waste of fine cast and location

[moviebuffgirl · 2/10 · 20 February 2002]

The screenwriter must have been autistic. Or perhaps the director,

who once had the emotional power to direct the scalding movie

Jude, grew so exhausted by feeling that he had a lobotomy.

In any case, they have both contributed to the stunning

accomplishment of turning an emotionally charged subject, an

extremely talented cast, a stunning location, and a dramatic movie

score into a finished product that conveys the emotional

resonance and flavor of a mouthfull of slushy oatmeal.

Caution, spoilers ahead:

I am not someone who uses this adjective often, but there is no

other word for this film but boring. The story itself is potentially

shocking. A young man from Dublin is so exhausted and discouraged by the trek out to the American west that he carelessly

sells his wife and daughter for gold. Twenty years later, when he

has it all-- enormous riches, a town he founded, local respect, a

sexy mistress-- his wife comes to find him. Yet in striving for

understatement, Michael Winterbotom gives us two hours of

emotional muteness. The learn very little about any of the

characters, and oddly enough, such supple actors as Wes Bentley

(the captivating Ricki Fitz in American beauty) and Sarah Polley

(consistently good, and notably poignant in The Sweet Hearafter)

come across as frankly uninteresting. Even Milla Jovovich, whose

stilted speech and little girl "sexy" posturing I usually find tiring (I

still think her squaking performance in the 5th element was her

best to date) was unusally subdued.

This is the danger of literary adaptations. I haven't read the original

Hardy (and this certainly does not encourage that impulse) but

doubtless the characters that seem so alternately silent and

predictable on the screen would have more depth. I am sure that

there are more than a few short flashbacks to the crux of the whole

story-- the scene of desertion and what that disertion meant. The

central problem with Winterbottom's film is that it really means

nothing-- the wife forgives him, the daughter doesn't know. But

there is that little issue that TWENTY YEARS pass. As portrayed in

this thin script, the late Dillon is just too good a man, too just a

man, to have SOLD his family without ever once trying to find them,

and without ever once trying to explain himself.

I can't overemphasize how good the cast is-- even the model who

makes her acting debut as a young Elena is absolutely stunning

(and it doesn't hurt that she is one of the most gorgeous women to

cross the screen in recent memory!). Natasia Kinski, Sarah Polley,

Wes Bentley have all proven their acting chops. Solely on the

strength of his performance of Dillon, I am eager to watch all 16 of

Peter Mullan's previous films.

If you are going to watch this movie, I'd suggest doing so in

summer. That way you might enjoy watching the snow swirled

screen and hearing the howling of wind passing through the place

where the films emotional core should be. Personally, it left me

cold.

Admirable use of realistic pioneer accents

[oige · 8/10 · 13 October 2004]

One of my favourite things about this fine film is that the characters have European accents; too often films set in the American frontier of the 19th Century have their characters speaking in unlikely modern American accents. It adds greatly to the film's believability, as well as reminding the viewer that these were people who left their homelands, usually to escape extreme poverty, and started a new life in what was (to the white man) unknown territory; this utter anonymity helps explain the actions of some of the characters in the film. Indeed the central theme, the cost of sacrificing what one has for a possible better life, is an aspect of emigration itself; the poem "Noreen Bán" recited by Hope Byrne recalls the tragedy of mass emigration from Ireland after the Great Famine, so its impact on Dillon is multiplied.

Great credit is also due to the actors, excellent performances all round.

There is no changing the past

[aeolianknight · 7/10 · 11 July 2001]

I am not a winter person, no, not in the least, but there is wonderful imagery in this movie, in large thanks to Cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler. One in particular has a runaway horse in flames with these "Shane like" majestic mountains in the background. I think that image will stay with me for some time.

This is a though story about mistakes that people make along the road of life and the answer is painfully clear even before it comes, that we can't change the past no matter how hard we try.

The premise is that a man swaps his wife and daughter for the claim to a gold mine. The story takes place years later in a moment of transition not only for the characters but also for the town which the holder of the claim has built, for changing times are at hand with the arrival of the railroad.

It's obvious that it's because of ticket sales that Westerns have become a rarity in films, and that's a shame, because there's a stark realism to the look of this western, the town and saloon give the impression that perhaps it was really like that once upon a time in the west.

If I can find fault with anything, it would have to be the pacing, which is slow to say the least, done deliberately to signify how we can't recapture the past it works against the length, by being too slow, I found myself wishing that it would speed up at some points, like when it lets us into side characters that I really had no interest in.

What works well is the knowledge of what happened in the past and the futility (and these characters know it's futile) to make everything all right. Most times everything can't be made all right. This is a wonderful example of that truth.

grandeur that is ultimately empty

[fookoo · 3/10 · 31 August 2003]

The vast majority of movies either sink or swim, depending upon what is up on the screen. For those kinds of films, it makes no difference what is their literary legacy because they presuppose no antecedent, unlike a sequel or a film based upon a tv series. "The Claim" begins with the brownish look of some of the earlier Clint Eastwood westerns and seems to almost attempt to emulate some of that feeling. Naming a town, Kingdom Come, almost immediately brings to mind Pale Rider with "The Claim" lacking the austerity of that film. No one can fault the backdrop of this movie - the Sierra Nevada's. There is hope that this will be more than a decent film with an adequate budget and good actors because it is associated with the BBC. It certainly has a look to it that strives for authenticity. So how does it turn out?

The British underpinning of this movie can either take one of two forms: tally ho and away we go or the stiff British lip that one finds in sound bites from its parliament with those "here, here." Well, the 'here, here" gets the nod here. Even with its nudity, the film is too conservative, indicating a misunderstanding of the feel of the old American west. Whoever wrote the script should have studied the early Clint Eastwood movies (such as "The Outlaw Josey Wales") more thoroughly. It is just too genteel and lacks rawness.

Nastassja Kinski receives third billing in this film. Her role is the glue that holds this movie together. Very early on, for those looking for her, she is seen in 1/8th profile for less than a second and then holding on for dear life as an open ended wagon bounces along the dirt road with her and her daughter in the back. At best, this role is two dimensional and clearly lacks depth because none was called for in the portrayal of a dying woman. As soon as she is shown coughing up blood, it is obviously curtains for her with the hope that she can make something out of the role like Clint Eastwood in "Honkytonk Man" - she can't. She does what she has to with a convincing cough.

The other actors, with more defined and difficult roles, are simply not up to the task to pull them off in a convincing manner. They fail to rise to the occasion. Wes Bentley, as Dalglish, is not credible. He would appear to be more comfortable waiting on tables in between acting jobs at Campanile, a restaurant in Los Angeles. He doesn't appear to possess the mental grit to cold heartedly kill someone, much less spearhead the laying out of a railroad in the wild west. Milla Jovovich as Lucia is passable. There is no electricity in her performance even with her prosthetic gold tooth. Peter Mullan as Daniel Dillon is way too conservative. The role calls for more emotional espression or at least the hint of it. Sarah Polley being a young actress of 20 or so at the time, must have been thrilled to get the role and isn't pushed very hard on the performance scale.

"The Claim" is a movie that is very much like a full cup of water in its beginning, but by the end of the movie one realizes that there is a hole at the bottom of the cup because everything has dribbled away. Simply put, it lacks passion and emotional content.

impressive drama

[Buddy-51 · 11 August 2001]

Although set in a remote Sierra Nevada mining town in 1867, `The Claim' is really Thomas Hardy's classic novel, `The Mayor of Casterbridge' transported to American soil. The move is a good one.

The story concerns a wealthy miner named Daniel Dillon who practically runs the town of Kingdom Come as his own personal fiefdom. One fateful day three groups of people arrive into town: some railroad surveyors who offer the possibility that a train may soon be passing through the town, bringing with it people, wealth and prosperity; some prostitutes who plan to open up shop in this all-male community; and a sickly woman and her beautiful young daughter, who, it turns out, are the wife and daughter that Dillon sold for a bag of gold in his desperate youth – a decision he has lived to rue ever since.

Given this multi-character canvas, writer Frank Cottrell Boyce and director Michael Winterbottom take an almost painterly approach, allowing the drama to unfold at an unhurried pace, so that they can concentrate on the bleak snowy winter setting which ends up playing as great a role in the drama as the characters themselves. The most compelling of these is Dillon, a figure of almost tragic proportions, a man who seizes the chance to make amends for his heinous sin, yet who discovers, all too late, that, for some sins, there can be no redemption. Peter Mullan provides a superbly understated interpretation of a man whose acquisition of immense wealth and power only mask the loneliness and guilt he feels inside. Wes Bentley as the chief railroad surveyor, Nastassja Kinski as Dillon's ailing wife, Sarah Polley as their daughter and Milla Jovovich as Dillon's devoted mistress all turn in outstanding performances. Although none of these characters are afforded the same richness and depth that Dillon is, they still create a fascinating tapestry of conflicting dreams and emotions. For the concept of `dreams' is a core element of the story's pioneer theme. Here are a group of rugged individualists, all enduring great hardships on a wild outpost far away from the soothing amenities of civilized life – yet all dreaming of being a part of the building of a burgeoning new nation, of which the makeshift towns and railroad-building are truly indelible symbols.

And, indeed, in many ways, it is the images – of rugged mountains, of the relentlessly falling snow, of a house being pulled by horses across a snowy plain – that stick with us most profoundly. `The Claim' is a somber, moving and fascinating glimpse into our pioneer past.

Well-Acted, Naturalistic Costume Western in Beautiful Scenery

[noralee · 7/10 · 10 October 2005]

I was sold on seeing "The Claim" from the preview of a hunky bearded Wes Bentley looking longingly at one of my favorite Canadian actresses, Anne of Green Gables herself, Sarah Polley.

It's been decades since I read "Mayor of Casterbridge" or years since I saw a "Masterpiece Theater" version so I can't remember how closely this is inspired by Thomas Hardy (the women certainly seem pluckier) but it's far more "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" than Yorkshire.

The snowy Canadian and Colorado Rockies landscape is breathtaking and the Michael Nyman score rises to the peaks.

The melange of French, Polish, Irish, Scotch etc. accents are suitable for the uncivilized West of lonely gold miners, pioneers, fortune-hunters and adventurers on the cusp of the railroad changing the country forever.

The Ozymandias references are a bit thick; perhaps Brit Michael Winterbottom doesn't realize that we're all familiar with the Western movie convention of the town controlled by one king (usually played recently by Gene Hackman), though unusually here Peter Mullan is not evil but sympathetically complex (strong and vulnerable, sexy and paternal), as he comes to grips with his past, while the rest of the town is coming to grips with its future.

Bentley too is no stiff hero, but a regular guy on a mission of progress thrown into a series of temporary situations that become permanent.

It's unusual that a costume drama set in the 1900's can seem so naturalistic.

(originally written 5/5/2001)

Altmanesque

[smitchell-1 · 6/10 · 26 June 2003]

I found this to be a good movie, against all warnings to stay away. It had a quiet, natural feel, which is more refreshing to me than a big Hollywood epic that always has to be showing off. Beautifully shot and well-acted, this is a good film for watching on a Sunday afternoon.

An enjoyable, thoughtful disappointment

[MotoMike · 7/10 · 19 June 2001]

"The Claim", an American Westernized rewrite of Thomas Hardy's _The Mayor of Casterbridge_, inherits the problems of its source material; no matter how one tries, this is not an easily adapted or filmed story. The novel used to be one of my favorites, but a re-reading shows some cracks that make the structure collapse easily when moved, kind of like an antique bookcase. So it's forgivable that: <POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT> the mayor's duality (his heinous sin in selling his wife and his daughter as a drunken youth versus his exemplary leadership in running a peaceful town) is not well communicated. (For example, the whipping scene: you think that this'll be a brutal and sickening episode - surprise! it's kind of ordinary, and the point is not that justice is rough out here in the West, but that because of this mayor, justice has a chance at being fair and merciful).

And it's forgivable that there is practically no tension between him and Nastassia Kinski when they meet after many years.

And it's forgivable that the house-moving scene (and the fire at the end) didn't make much sense. (Good cinematography on both, though).

Some things, though, didn't make sense dramatically: Is Wes Bentley's character Dalgliesh supposed to be a good guy? He's supposedly written as one, but really he is directed to be a non-character; he makes no moral choices, has no vulnerabilities or character flaws, and has little to recommend him (or condemn him) other than being good-looking enough to attract Sarah Polley. It's too bad they couldn't have written a part for him. Sarah Polley, however, is a winner in everything she does, and this is no exception; she has two things in her favor; she can underact and she isn't always gorgeous onscreen. She's the center of attention of every frame she's in - except the few she shares with Milla Jovovitch, who is a real revelation here. Jovovitch comes off as the strongest and most interesting character in the film; I want to see what she can do now that she's away from stunt casting.

All in all, I wasn't enthralled with this film; too much of it just lay there. Many reviewers compared it with "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"; I agree, except Altman's movie came back at you after you saw it and many scenes are still riveted in my mind.

That being said, however, this is two orders of magnitude of intelligence, sensitivity and craft above recent summer masterpieces like "Pearl Harbor" and "Lara Croft:Tomb Raider". I'm really glad I went to see it and am looking forward to more from this director.

Boring and confusing mess of a movie

[JThomas-2 · 1/10 · 6 June 2001]

This is a bloated pompous mess of a movie that looks really good and wants to be good, but cannot be. The editing is mostly to blame. It jumps around from time period to time period without much warning and then there are the events in the movie that make little sense. For example, why does a fully furnished house moved into place by men and horses, not have broken dishes, crockery, paintings on the floor, etc.? Instead everything is perfect when the actors step inside. And why is a train circa 1930's running around in 1900 California? And how on God's green Earth could someone be buried six feet under when there is a good two feet of snow on the ground (anyone who lives in a snowbound area knows this is impossible)? Wes Bentley isn't so much acting as just saying lines. The one thing this movie had in its favor is that none of the actors had straight teeth - and that would be fitting for the era...

A fully realized film in every way, a top achievement.

[js7 · 10/10 · 15 May 2001]

In the sense that it lacks the conventions of any particular trend or mode, The Claim is timeless filmmaking. It betrays no resemblance to any single period in film's modern history, and could've as easily appeared in 1985, or 1965, as now. Of all the cinematic influences Director Winterbottom might ally, he seems to have ignored all but one: himself. Leaving behind contemporary notions of style or authorism, he guides us through the story of a pioneer man's creation of himself, his young aspirations, and the insurmountable grief he eventually reaps. Winterbottom's camera moves softly and beautifully, even in and out of focus, as if navigating slowly through falling snow or sluggish cold air. But the film, for all it's seemingly languorous pace, never once leaves us for wont of a scene to move on, or for the story to ascend another level of fullness. The story will chill your heart as deeply as it's landscape will chill your bones.

Another opportunity to strike gold is lost

[rushmore24 · 6/10 · 16 January 2002]

I've waited a long time for its release here and have to express my disappointment at the final result. Hardy's work has long been a rich source for many British television dramatizations and a few successful films like 'Tess' and 'Jude'. Given the setting the film should have looked spectacular and yet colour, clarity and/or composition spoil beautiful images that Ridley Scott or Terrence Malick would not have wasted. The story of betrayal and shame is interesting but it is exposed by too many awkwardly staged scenes, often with banal dialogue. No role is given enough flesh by the screenwriter and much of the acting talent is wasted, particularly Wes Bentley after his electric performance in 'American Beauty'. There are too many snowbound vistas and insufficient character exposition. Like 'McCabe and Mrs Miller' the deprivation and conditions of a frontier town are not hidden, yet the only thing to thaw the ice and snow is the climactic fire rather than any real emotional warmth from the characters. However Nyman's music does do justice to the mountainous panoramas.

Boyce, Winterbottom and Nyman come up short

[LunarPoise · 2/10 · 16 February 2009]

Frank Cottrell Boyce is dismissive of screen writing books, but on the evidence of this disjointed, incoherent outing he may want to take a trip to the library. Bearing a superficial resemblance to The Mayor of Casterbridge, this film lacks dramatic tension, dramatic irony, humour, characters who we can love or loathe, and most essentially a plot that resolves itself on the basis of the choices the characters make. Hardy's novel traces the rise, fall, then rise again of a powerful, cantankerous individual. The novel's tragic irony is that the 'daughter' the Mayor sacrifices everything for is not, in fact, his biological daughter. This plot line is inexplicably discarded by Boyce. It robs the climax of any dramatic power, Winterbottom looking to compensate for the lack of emotional payoff with a show of pyrotechnics.

Like Boyce, Winterbottom fails to do justice to the story. Daniel gives up all for his daughter, but the emotional impact is never relayed to the audience. Elena tells Daniel that to embrace Hope as a daughter he must tell her the truth. That conversation takes place with the camera behind Daniel and Elena, their faces masked in silhouette. Why cast actors of the caliber of Kinski and Mullan if you won't let the audience see them act in their most dramatic moments? The only father-daughter interaction between Daniel marrying Elena and the crucial scene where he tells her the truth, is a dance at the wedding relayed in a prosaic, underwhelming longshot. When Daniel comes to tell her of his past misdeed he does so matter-of-factly, she runs away, and the inner turmoil this must have caused for both individuals is never examined. It is symptomatic of the failure to manage any emotional arcs or beats in this film. Winterbottom does not seem to follow the basic rules of action-re-action. When Hope first reveals herself to Daniel with the rosary beads, there is shock - then nothing. A reflective moment, with Daniel fingering the beads, is called for but never offered up. Dalglish loves Hope, sleeps with someone else, blames it on his job, and is forgiven. A sub-plot involving a railroad engineer and a prostitute takes up more screen time than the Hope-Dalglish romance. At two points people are shot dead but we cut to life going on as normal, with no sign of grief or consequences for the community.

The film looks like an amalgam of Winterbottom's Wonderland (the fireworks scene is recycled set-up for set-up) and Miller and Mrs. McCabe. However, it has neither the keenly felt human longing of the former or the frailty and mystery of Altman's latter.

Perhaps in reaction to the less-than-inspiring efforts of his collaborators, Michael Nyman seems not to have bothered too much with this one. He re-jigs a few notes on his Wonderland score and layers it over The Claim. All the music did was take me out of the film and make me think how sad it is to see a genius plagiarizing his own work.

The Claim looks nice in places, though the snow-covered pioneer town invites comparisons with Altman's masterpiece and once again falls short. There are some nice moments, most notably when Jovovich sings about Portugal. But it is all very bitty, ill-disciplined and under-realised. It looks like a work in progress rather than a finished film. Boyce, Winterbottom and Nyman have all done better in the past, and need to do so again.

melancholy beauty

[archer1949 · 10/10 · 5 January 2002]

The Claim is a story of family tragedy and the inevitability of fate set in 1867 California. It is apparently based on a novel by Thomas Hardy, but I cannot attest to the faithfulness of this film to the novel except to say that it undoubtedly had a change of setting.

Daniel Dillon is the ruler of Kingdom Come, a small mining town high in the California Sierras. Dillon is rich, powerful but fair, and has won the favor of a beautiful young mistress. But he has secrets that that makes contentment elusive. Twenty years before, Dillon committed an unspeakable act to gain his fortune and has been marking time ever since.

When two mysterious women, an older woman and her twenty-year old daughter, arrive in Kingdom Come with a railroad survey party, the sins of the past come back to affect everyone in the town. Although I haven't read the source material, the plot and tone of this film has an almost palpable sense of impending tragedy that is a hallmark in all of Hardy's works. The harsh winter and forbidding mountains of the American west fits very well with this theme.

Although this is ostensibly a western, there are none of the standard western cliches in this film. There are no heroes nor villains. The sporadic scenes of violence are confused and pointless, as violent situations are apt to be, and the pacing of the film is very deliberate. It is an intimate epic, more concerned with character than grand vistas and set pieces. Nevertheless, the visuals are stunning. I wish could have seen this on a big screen.

Watching this film, I couldn't help thinking to myself how this is what it must have been like, living in those times. Many critics have complained how muted the performances are, but in a time when death was so close and a person's fortune was so transitory, not investing a lot of emotional stake into something seems a pragmatic choice. Besides, without a modicum of restraint, this film could have devolved into melodramatic camp. As far as I am concerned the choices were perfect.

The standout cast includes Scottish actor Peter Mullan as Dillon. He is the center of this film. His performance brings both gravity and vulnerabitlity to this complex character.

The always watchable Natassja Kinski plays Elena, the mysterious, dying woman who has returned from Dillon's past. Sarah Polley plays Hope, Elena's innocent daughter who serves as a catalyst for Dillon's search for redemption. Polley's character is sketchier than the others, serving more as a plot point, but Polley does what she can with this ultra virtuous Victorian throwback.

But the real casting surprise is a nearly unrecognizable Milla Jovovich in the small but intergral role of Lucia, Dillon's mistress. Lucia is Dillon's opposite in every way: tough, smart and running from a regretful past. It's a tough role and Jovovich pulls is off beautifully. I had previously dismissed her as a bimbo model dilletante, but this serious sympathetic performance sheds a new light on things. Hopefully she will be given similar down to earth roles in the future.

People compare this film to Robert Altman's 1970's anti-western, McCabe and Mrs. Miller. This might be accurate in a superficial way, but I found the Claim much more satisfying. I found Winterbottom's objective, detached storytelling more effective than Altman's gimmicky, painfully self-conscious direction. I was never a fan of that film (or Altman in general) in the first place, so almost anything would be an improvement.

A better comparison would be Ang Lee's 1999 masterwork, Ride With the Devil. Both portray a little known facet of American history in an authentic and unsentimental fashion. They take the settings of a Western without wallowing in convention. They were also both buried by the public. It's sad to think that when garbage like Pearl Harbor are splattered all over multiplexes in the country, a beautiful film like this is ignored. It does not reflect well on modern American culture.

The Claim was definitely the best movie that was released in 2000 that I have seen. And I feel confidant that it will be recognized as one of the best films of this new decade.

See it. Now.

Good modern western drama.

[sgmi-53579 · 7/10 · 9 March 2023]

Exploring the depth of a man's soul, after he sells his wife and infant daughter for a gold stake and then strikes it rich; Daniel Dillion is unexpectedly reunited with them some twenty years later as his past rolls into town. Elana, now ill, and her grown daughter Hope arrive on the train, along with surveyor Daniel Daglish and his team, deciding if Kingdom Come will step into modernity with the coming railroad. It's interesting as both a critique of lust for money, but also as an elegy for the old west and a midlife turning point for Mr. Dillon. Beautifully shot with a powerful story and action, this is a a western that feels timeless and should not escape into obscurity. They probably don't make 'em like this anymore. Recommended.

So I just lost 2 hours of my life

[marianka-mac · 1/10 · 6 September 2006]

This movie has two main and huge problems: First, the plot is TERRIBLE. I thought there would be some psychological drama going on, but no and nothing. From the beginning to the end it's just dull dull dull, nothing going on, no good storyline, there were plenty of things I just did not understand at all, it was all confusing. I mean, the original idea was good, but that's about it. Second: it seems the director didn't think about how the scene looks like at all. Everything was new, it was obvious it had never been used before. People had new clothes on, even those working on the railroad, new tents (very clean, newly bought, newly built, not a drop of snow fell on them, although it seems to be snowing none stop.), some people have sunglasses (that could be my mistake, but were sunglasses common in the Sierra Nevada in 1887?), and nothing was realistic.

The first twenty minutes I tried to watch the movie, then I had fun commenting it with my sister, but the second half, I was looking on the internet about it, see if some people liked it, because I couldn't really watch it anymore.

Why do people shoot such movies? DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE! Please.