Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #36: Legends of the Fall (1994)

 

Legends of the Fall is a family drama that takes place across two decades, and is something of a western as the bulk of scenes take place in Montana. Directed by Edward Zwick, it’s based on a novella from Jim Harrison. Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), leaves the Army out of disgust at how it’s violated its promises to the American Indians and starts a ranch. Joining him are his Indian friend One Stab (Gordon Tootoosis), farmhand Decker with his Cree wife and daughter, and William’s wife Isabel. Isabel does not care for life in Montana, especially when the weather gets bad, and spends most of the movie living elsewhere, but not before she gives William three sons.

The oldest and most ambitious is Alfred (Aidan Quinn), the youngest Samuel (Henry Thomas), and the middle Tristan (Brad Pitt). Tristan takes a lot after his father’s Indian friend One Stab, becoming the most adventurous of the characters, but also the most temperamental. In 1914 Samuel brings home his fiancée Susannah Fincannon (Julia Ormond), and all seems happy. But over the next ten or so years tragedy starts to hit the family, with Susannah finding herself pursued by each one of the Ludlow brothers at one point or another. I won’t describe all the twists and turns of the drama, but let’s just say the movie ends on a bittersweet note and a couple of the characters get overdramatic at points. It does have a nice musical score by James Horner and the acting is solid.

I chiefly chose this movie for my watchlist because the chronological scope of the story allows it to touch on several moments in American history. It deals with some of the fallout of the Old West era, with William Ludlow employing several Indians and a former criminal on his ranch. They’re not living the way they used to, but they’re not completely defeated, either. That being said, this is a rather minor element of the story, save for One Stab’s impact on Tristan’s upbringing. However, the movie does have plenty of western elements, including a final stand-off at the end.

The Ludlow brothers Left to Right: Alfred (Aidan Quinn), Samuel (Henry Thomas), and Tristian (Brad Pitt)

After the more idyllic opening act, Samuel decides to join the Great War over his father’s objections. Not wanting their brother to go alone, his two brothers come along. They join the 10^th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Actually, many Americans, thanks to a growing Anglo-American spirit, went to Canada to fight before their country finally declared war in 1917. The battle depicted is 2^nd Ypres, fought around the Belgian town of the same name. This battle was notable for the Germans’ first major use of gas as a weapon, but this is not depicted in the movie. Though the date given is wrong (February 1915 instead of April 1915), the portrayal of a trench assault is considered accurate.

Here be spoilers. The war leaves Samuel dead and Tristan shaken both by the death and his own violent response to it. He returns and starts to fall in love with Susannah, but his PTSD overcomes him and he decides to wander the world, effectively abandoning her. With her fiancée dead and the attractive Tristan gone, Susannah marries Alfred, but grows unhappy as Alfred starts to climb the social ladder and get involved with some very unscrupulous men (a mix of politicians and gangsters). William suffers a stroke and the ranch starts to decline, but then Tristan comes back and he and his father decide to smuggle alcohol during prohibition.

Susannah (Julie Ormond) gets all mushy with the long-haired Tristan

Prohibition was one of the greatest backfires of American history. Seeing alcohol as the source of many of society’s ills, the Temperance Movement spent nearly a decade trying to get it banned. Incredibly, this came to pass with the 18^th Amendment in 1920. Instead of curing society, it actually made it more lawless as people turned to crime to get their drinks. After all, people sensed that there was nothing inherently evil about wanting to consume a little alcohol, so it was easier for them to break the law in this case.

Usually Prohibition action takes place in the cities, but less populated areas like Montana were involved as well. Actually, Montana got a head start, with Prohibition starting in the state at the end of 1918. It also was the first to repeal it in 1926, a good 6 to 7 years before the 18^th Amendment in total was overridden. Unfortunately for the Ludlows in the movie, their family bootlegging business raises the ire of the local gangsters and tensions escalate into a small war. In real life the mobs had operatives working in rural states such as Montana thanks to the Canadian border. As a result, Legends of the Fall features a unique showdown western and crime movie archetypes.

The family sticks together. Anthony Hopkins is on the right.

I won’t talk too much more about Legends of the Fall, as it’s most a human drama story with a strong historical backdrop. I didn’t even get into the other romantic subplot with Isabel Two (Karina Lombard). This movie is a good way to see how a single family struggles and evolves as major events unfold. Brad Pitt fan girls will have a good time with this movie if you’re one of those.

Rating: 7/10