Kevin Costner has cemented himself as a distinguished figurehead of Western cinema. His Oscar-winning epicDances with Wolvesis widely regarded asone of Kevin Costner’s greatest movies. However, too often overlooked is Costner’sOpen Range, a gritty adaptation of the 1990 Lauran Paine novelThe Open Range Menthat not only marked the actor’s directorial return: it also reconfirmed his deep, almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Western genre.
Released in 2003,Open Rangecoversthe violent wars between freegrazing cattlemen in the Old Westand stars Costner alongside Hollywood legends like Robert Duvall, Annette Benning, and even a young Diego Luna pre-Andorfame. WhereasDances with Wolvespresents a grandiose, almost Homeric tale of a Union soldier’s bond with the Lakota people,Open Rangedelivers a far more grounded and authentic narrative (according to historical experts)that, in addition to being far more representative of its genre, is alsoa testament and love letter to the cowboy as a symbol of tough American individualism.
Why 2003’s Open Range Is Kevin Costner’s Best Western Movie
The Film Explores A Different Side Of The Traditional Cowboy
Set in 1882 Montana,Open Rangefollows former gunslinger Charley Waite (Kevin Costner), who works alongside his fellow ranch hands Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna) for open range cattleman “Boss” Spearman (Robert Duvall). Charley and Boss encounter trouble after a corrupt local rancher, Denton Baxter (Sir Michael Gambon), attacks and kills one of their crew members,forcing the pair to team up and get revenge against Baxtonwhile defending their land in an ultimate showdown against the landowner.
Though the film celebrates Charley’s bravery through heroic framing and a swelling orchestral score, it doesn’t shy away from depicting the brutality of war.
What separatesOpen Rangefrom the rest ofKevin Costner’s Westernsis itsgrit and stripped-down violence, whose messiness is accentuated through a modern lenswith quick cuts, handheld camera, and brilliant sound editing. Though the film celebrates Charley’s bravery through heroic framing and a swelling orchestral score, it doesn’t shy away from depicting the brutality of war.
Furthermore,the film also hints at the ranch hand’s underlying post-traumatic stressfrom the Civil War. In short,Open Rangetakes the bold, heroic cowboy of past Westerns and reframes him in a way that both preserves his mythos while exploring his raw, untamed vulnerability—creating by far the most thought-provoking protagonist in Costner’s filmography.
The Western Genre Brings Out The Best In Kevin Costner
Costner Holds A Deep Passion For Westerns And Filmmaking
There’s a very simple reason why Kevin Costner continues to excel in creating Westerns likeYellowstoneand theHorizonsaga—beyond just the filmmaker’s love for the genre. Put simply,Costner has an understanding of the Western story’s hallmarks, tropes, clichés, and archetypesthat allow him to create a breathtaking tale likeOpen Rangethat’s rooted in the genre’s canon and history.
What’s more, the Western is simply the type of film where Kevin Costner feels most at home. The actor once claimed, “I’m just not comfortable in cities,” which helps explain why he prefers Westerns - whether it’s a modern-day Western or a period piece set in the Wild West - over a standard action film or drama. Costner explained, “But when I find myself out in the West, I wake up every morning and that’s my office. That’s what I’m looking at.”
Being comfortable in that sort of atmosphere seems to have brought out the best in Kevin Costner, which goes to show why he’s been repeatedly cast in Westerns, more so than any other genre, for the last three decades. As evidenced by his role inOpen Range, Costner has mastered all the elements needed for a good Western protagonist, making him the closest thing this era has to John Wayne or Clint Eastwood.
