It is a difficult thing to make a movie. It is even harder to make a long film, that can keep the audience interested. Wyatt Earp has this problem. It may be a good idea to show an iconic figures’ life with ups and downs. This works sometimes, as is the case, with Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi. It isn’t the case with this film. The reason is Wyatt Earp is known for The OK Corral. This story has been filmed many times, with John Ford’s mainly fictional account, the best. The famous incident is Wyatt Earp’s highlight. The problem is the two and one half hour wait for it.
The movie attempts to show how Wyatt Earp becomes a legend. Kevin Costner is ok as the lead, and is also one of the producers. The beginning shows his brothers, coming home from war; with one being wounded. A young Wyatt, (Ian Bohen), is unhappy he can’t join. He is given good advice by his father, Nicholas, (Gene Hackman). One of the pieces of advice, that Wyatt follows, is that family matters most of all. Gene Hackman makes the most of his role. A film like this, always has famous actors in small parts. It is Hackman’s acting ability, that makes you remember his role. One of the film’s best moments is a scene between Hackman and Earp. Wyatt has drifted into lawlessness, after the death of his wife. He is jailed in Arkansas, for stealing a horse. Nicholas Earp, an attorney visits his son. He lectures him, and says he’ll be hanged. He arranges Wyatt’s escape, and realizes the reality of never seeing his son.
Wyatt drifts in the west, doing various things, among them buffalo hunting. It is while hunting the animals, that he meets Bat Masterson, (Tom Sizemore). He leaves this profession, and goes into law enforcement:first in Wichita, Kansas, and later in lawless Dodge City. He is persuaded to be a peace officer there, because he receives money for making arrests. Earp works alongside Bat Masterson, and his brother Ed, (Bill Pullman) making the city livable for decent citizens. Even though Wyatt’s efforts are successful, the town council doesn’t like his methods. They fire him. He later is asked back, when Ed Masterson, the sheriff, is gunned down. He works there, doing what he does best, and later leaves for Tombstone, Arizona.
It is in Tombstone, that Wyatt works with his brothers, Morgan, (Linden Ashby) and Virgil, (Michael Madsden). He also runs into an acquaintance from his days in Texas, Doc Holliday, (Dennis Quaid). It is in this city in the southwest, that big trouble starts; in the form of the Clanton family. They are headed by Ike, (Jeff Fahey). He has a partnership in crime with Frank Mclaury, (Rex Linn) and his family. Doc Holliday considers Wyatt Earp, his only friend, and sides with him. Neither side backs down, and the climax is at The OK Corral. A gun battle takes place, with Earp and company winning. Unfortunately Wyatt is arrested for murder, and tried. He is censured by the judge for his actions, but found not guilty of murder. There is a lot of bad blood, and Morgan and Virgil are later shot. Morgan dies and Virgil is seriously wounded. Earp leaves Tombstone with some friends and family, seeking vengeance. He finds those responsible and his vengeance is complete.
After this, the film skips to the Alaska gold rush. Earp is shown on a ship, with his wife, Josie, (Joanna Going). They run into a man, who relates the story of Wyatt saving his uncle, “Tommy Behind-The-Deuce”, from a lynch mob. Wyatt mentions people say it didn’t happen that way. His wife, says it did, taking a page from John Ford; not letting facts get in the way of a good story. The movie ends with an epilogue explaining what happened to the major characters.
Wyatt Earp does have a few good things about it. One is, it isn’t an epic failure of a film, like Cleopatra. It does have good moments, when Earp is a young man driving a stagecoach, and outdistancing the bad guys. There is another when Wyatt gets out of being a fatal statistic in a gunfight. He throws a billiard ball, at the gunman’s throat disabling him, and taking his gun belt. These moments are few. The main flaw is that Kevin Costner isn’t quite suited for the part. It should have been a more hard edged actor. It also doesn’t show Wyatt Earp as the hero, but as a very flawed man, who cheats on his wife, and oversees gambling operations, while he is a lawman. It is a major departure from other Hollywood portrayals of this legend of the west. The movie is helped by Gene Hackman’s presence. His appearance in most films help. Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday, does keep the movie interesting. He is very good in a scene with Isabella Rossellini who plays Holliday’s lover, Big Nose Kate. Ms. Rossellini has inherited some of her mother, Ingrid Bergman’s talent. Dennis Quaid keeps you talking about who portrayed the sickly gunman, the best. Wyatt Earp is an example of why Tinseltown takes real people, and plays fast and loose with the truth.