The Shooting (1967)

            A far cry from the quintessential Western, Monte Hellman’s 1967 film The Shooting is a disappointment. The exposition is simple enough: hardened cowboy Gashade (Warren Oates) and his young companion Coley (Will Hutchins) are suddenly joined by a secretive and nameless Woman, who employs them to help her in a revenge scheme (upon whom they are seeking revenge, the boys have no idea). They later meet up with bounty hunter Billy Spear (Jack Nicholson), and find themselves dealing with far more than they agreed to.

While The Shooting employs several creative visual techniques, they have no relevance to the story and ultimately fall short. There is a moment near the beginning of the film where the Woman is seen in a profile close-up. The shot is stylistically interesting, but unexpected and jarring. It is also not matched by any subsequent shot, making it an even more bizarre directorial decision. But what else is new? The Shooting is filled with numerous equally strange shots and moments. The composition is always a little different than would be traditionally accepted, like in a shot where Coley and the Woman stand on either side of a tombstone. The grave is seen directly in between the two characters, creating a very uncomfortable frame. The use of slow-motion and still frames in the last scene are highly distracting, and again have no connection to anything we’ve seen earlier in the film. When I wasn’t too busy wondering to myself, “What the hell is going on?” I was wondering, “Why the hell did the director choose to do that?”

The film’s ending is simply ridiculous. After a first viewing, I had absolutely no idea what had happened. I saw some characters shoot, some characters get shot, one mysterious character in a wide shot (whom I could not identify, as that was the only coverage offered of him), and a whole lot of cheesy slow-motion. Perhaps my confusion was due to the fact that much of the dialogue was unintelligible. Upon further research, I learned that there is a somewhat widely-accepted explanation for what happened, but a viewer should never have to go seeking information that should be made clear on-screen! The worst part is that I didn’t even really care about the film’s resolution. It made no difference to me if Gashade died, or if the Woman succeeded in finding her target – that’s how disconnected I felt from the characters.

The one thing I did enjoy about this film was the music, composed by Richard Markowitz. Creepy and sinister, it is nothing like the grandiose scores we are used to hearing in Westerns. It gently foreshadows the horrific events to come and reminds the viewer that this is a fresh take on the genre. Just as impressive is the lack of music in chosen moments. During the climactic fight scene between Gashade and Billy, it cuts out completely, and the only sounds to be heard are their shuffles and struggles as either tries to dominate the other.

A film with an engaging first half, The Shooting gradually becomes rife with bizarre cinematography and confusing plot twists. It lacks consistency and multi-faceted characters, and filmgoers should feel no remorse in skipping it.