Customer Reviews

The Outsider

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Timothy Daly (of Wings fame) and Naomi Watts star in what appears at first glance to be a remake of Angel and the Badman (John Wayne and Gail Russell.) I have to say I love both movies for the same reasons. Faith and love can get you through any hardship you might face.

Johnny Gault is a world weary gunslinger who believes in his gun and nothing else. Rebecca Yodder belongs to a religious sect (The Plain People) who have strict rules for women and shun anything that may lead them to shame - including any kind of music.

Rebecca's husband is murdered and her son and brother harassed by the local sheriff and his men for her land. Johnny arrives out of nowhere and drops near death at her feet. She tends to him and he stays to help with the sheep and the farm.

The difference between Angel and the Badman and The Outsider, is that you actually see Rebecca's family and the community shun her as she begins to question her love for Johnny and the freedom it brings. At the same time, Johnny must deal with his past and with the present issue of the sheriff and his men threatening his newly adopted family.

What I really loved about this movie is the rhythm the director gave it with the hours and chores of the day, the beautiful score, and the stunning cinematography. Randa Haines (Children of a Lesser God, Hill Street Blues, The Ron Clark Story) assembled a cast that provides the emotional tension and drama that makes this movie worth watching. The chemistry between Daly and Watts is on target, and Daly will definitely make your heart beat a little faster. Keith Carradine plays a suitor and David Carradine plays the town doctor. John Noble (Lord of the Rings) plays the sheriff.

If you enjoy collecting westerns, especially romantic ones - this one is a keeper.

A bit of trivia: The haunting music you hear in the background of the movie is mostly Norwegian folk songs. Two of the songs sung - Bla Tonar Fra Lom and Jenta I Sauflokken can be found on the Nordisk Sang CD featuring various artists. There were no known Norwegian settlements in the US that were Amish, Mennonites or Quakers. Norwegian settlers were most likely Lutheran. The beautiful music still fits the movie and the mood. The movie, as most of you know is based on the historical romance The Outsider by author Penelope Williamson.

I caught the very end of the movie on Showtime. It intrigued me enough to buy the DVD; could not find it to rent first. It was money well spent. It is several cuts above average westerns and in it's way, even the movie "The Unforgiven". Naomi Watts gives a strong and compelling preformance as Rebbecca Yoder, a devoted Amish widow and ferociously protective mother. The belief that 'God will protect us' is her foundation. Tim Daly gives an outstanding preformance as Johnny Gault, the wounded shootist she takes in and nurses back to health after he wonders into her field. He can speak volumes with a quirked eyebrow and expressive eyes. It is obvious that Mr. Daly spent time getting into shape for this role as he is really cut. His acting in this role raises questions as to why he is so under appreciated as a leading man.(emphasis on Man, not the latest young pretty boy) His character, Johnny Gault, is a pragmatic realist about the way the world works. The attraction of Mr. Gault to Mrs. Yoder is not without cost,because as in any good western, right and wrong and good and evil must be delt with. The ending will leave you thinking. It is one of my very favorite movies and I hope others will enjoy it too.

I just happened upon this movie while looking for something to watch while I exercised on my stepping machine. Needless to say, I was so captivated by the movie that when my exercise hour was up, I just collapsed on the bed and watched this wonderful love story!

Wounded gunslinger Johnny Gault stumbles onto Amish widow Rebecca Yoder's farm. She nurses him back to health, tries to redeem him and falls in love! Sounds corny, and I guess it is a little bit, but what's wrong with that? There is a storyline about cattlemen wanting to run the Amish out of town in order to have their free grazing lands back, but it is primarily a love story between these two totally different people and how they make it work. This movie made me an instant Tim Daly fan! I used to think of him only as the cute one from "Wings", but now I am watching any movie he is, or has been, in! His acting is superb and subtle, and he is very nice to look at! Naomi Watts is lovely, but once in a while she has a goofy look on her face, as if she's not quite sure how she should react in a certain scene. But, these are small, picky things that shouldn't in any way detract from this wonderful movie. After you watch it, get the book! The book has a couple of storylines that were omitted from the film (for the sake of brevity)and Johnny Gault (who is Johnny Cain in the book with Rachel Yoder)is a somewhat darker character. The ending of the book is a bit more powerful, and if you can read it without crying, you're a tougher person than I!

This is the typical cattlemen versus sheep herders, Amish versus English, good versus evil type of movie, the age old battles.

A vulnerable woman who just lost her husband, a curious little boy and an outlaw make of the core characters in this movie. The outlaw is not your typically outlaw though. Sure, he has no one to love, no one who loves him and nothing to lose, but he has a good heart.

The movie kept my interest and in many ways was intriguing. The interaction of folks from totally different view points. The different perceptions. The tension between men interested in the same woman. The fact that folks are not always as they appear to be on the outside or what others perceive them to be. How caring for someone can take you way outside your normal realm. All these facets were presented in this movie in both subtle and not so subtle ways.

I'm not sure really what it was about this movie that sucked me in. The loner? The protector? The connection of two souls? The love of a lone man for a child? The "us against them" attitude? How folks see me, sometimes, hard nosed on the outside but not the softy on the inside. The question, can love reform or change a man? Fighting with ones own past and inner demons? Whatever it was it really kept my interest.

The sexual tension of what is left unsaid in this movie is well portrayed. The characters are explored deeply although the exploration is subtle. I found myself enjoying the movie a great deal and wondering why I had never heard of it before. If you like westerns don't miss this one.

I recently caught this movie on Showtime. I loved it. From beginning to end, I was riveted. I thought the story was well done and the characters absorbing and I was never bored or distracted. Tim Daly was a sight to behold (best shape I have ever seen him, preppy look transformed) and Naomi Watts was perfect as a "daughter of the plain people". David and Keith Carradine were perfect in their roles as well (especially David). Could the scenery have been any better? And the music not what you would expect of a western (wonderful). I would definately recommend this movie. I liked it so much that I bought the video and I recently checked out the book from my local library (the first chapter promising that the book will be even better than the movie, if that is possible). Thank you Penelope Williamson and Randa Haines.

This sturdy rehash of a popular Hollywood plot chronicles the changes wrought when a recently widowed Quaker woman (Naomi Watts) takes in a desperately wounded shootist (Tim Daly.) Although THE OUSIDER, a 2002 Showtime production, credits Penelope Williamson as the author of the book this movie is based on, it sure looks a lot like James Edward Grant's 1947 `Angel and the Badman,' another movie about a Quaker woman nursing a bad man back to health. Maybe to deflect comparisons the movie never refers to Watts' religion as Quaker. Instead they are simply `the plain people.' In any event, the set-up is simple and solid, and if `plot' can be defined as opposites in conflict seeking resolution, the plot elements here include; spiritual woman vs. physical man, sheep ranchers vs. cattle ranchers, a closed religious community vs. the free expression of individual love.

Those familiar with the Gail Russell/John Wayne movie will recognize the bonding going on between this angel and bad man, albeit updated to appeal to the new century. For instance, in `Angel and the Badman' Wayne's character is bent on revenge and his story predominates, while here the movie is told primarily from Watts' point of view. Gunplay is significantly downplayed in THE OUTSIDER, while lambing, rescuing sheep from boggy ponds, and scenes featuring a shirtless Daly writhing in a sweaty fever on the gentle widder's bed are highlighted. THE OUTSIDER is saturated with golden, Hallmark moments of calm, punctuated by the occasional muted scene of violence when, say, a handful of ranch rowdies ride out to scare the widow's young son, or the scenes that show what happens when the two leads are overwhelmed by the savage yearnings of their unfilled passions. Hmmm... maybe `savage yearnings' is a bit awkward, but my romance-novel patter is severely limited.

I'm not a consumer of romances, but I am an omnivore when it comes to westerns. I haven't seen many westerns, this side of Sleaze Row, that tell their story from the woman's point of view. The danger really ought to be coming from the nasty cattle ranch owner. Rather, the biggest threat here comes from widower Keith Carradine, buried beyond recognition under a floppy leather hat and behind a blond, Farmer John beard. Conveniently enough, he too is a widower with a young son to raise and a pious willingness to make many more young `uns. When it's a knockout like Naomi Watts under that linen bonnet who can blame him? If he's bland as a slab of flat bread, he's also safe and acceptable to the widow's all encompassing and all-important `plain people' community. By the way, Keith's brother David Carradine stars in this one, too, as a rye whiskey drinking town doc with a fine touch for sliding a flattened slug off a patient's vital organ.

Although I was a little thrown off by a western that dealt with some unfamiliar topics for an action genre, with the sincere performances of Watts and Daly, and the generally realistic subject and treatment, THE OUTSIDER was surprisingly entertaining.

Tim Daly and Naomi Watts turn a good story into a wonderful presentation with the help of talented direction and a strong supporting cast. It's the classic Western tale of Tim Daly, orphaned and abused as a child,seeking a way to redress the wrongs done to him by becoming someone feared and admired. And Naomi Watts,a woman of the Plain People and a widow, trying to run her small sheep ranch with the help of her son and also attempting to resist the ploys of a neighbor to remarry.
There, of course, is the cattle baron who desires the property owned by the Plain People throughout the valley and who will stop at nothing to gain the land for himself and his cattle company.
Mix everything together and you have a compelling movie with plenty of action, good characterizations, dialogue and plot.

No actor could have done the excellent job that Tim Daly did in this movie. I have watched it probably 40 times and am still watching it. It isn't just one of those great movies that you fast forward thru to the good scenes; they are all great scenes. Just watching the expressions on his face keeps me enthralled. His character is the kind of man every woman dreams of but, sadly, never finds. Why don't they make more movies like this one?

Tim Daly deserves an acting award for his superb performance. His face was just riveting to watch. This actor should be sought after for more romantic leading roles. He is aging beautifully. I ordered my first movie ever as a result of watching this film on Showtime. Bravo Tim Daly!

This movie is so moving you feel everything the characters feel. I watched this movie three times when I first sawit.I taped it so I could skip past the commericals that are so distracting to the viewer. The story was so believeable and I loved the chemistry between Daily and Watts. They should team up again. I just really loved it so much I had to buy a new copy. If you like made for Hallmark movies you will love this movie.
Sallie Wilkins