Hidden gem of a Western
In Montana, 1887, a shootist (Tim Daly) finds sanctuary with a widow (Naomi Watts) & her son, who happen to belong to a Plain People sect. Keith Carradine plays a neighboring elder while David Carradine is on hand as the local doctor.
"The Outsider" (2002) meshes ideas from “Angel and the Badman,” “Shane,” “Witness” and “The Scarlet Letter” (1995) and is pretty much on par with the best of ’em in its own unique way. There’s a reverent, beautiful vibe reminiscent of “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992), just with the setting & tone of the future “Forsaken” with Donald & Kiefer Sutherland.
Two heavy topics are addressed. One is absolute pacifism vs limited pacifism. The small sect advocates the former while the movie advocates the latter. Rebecca Yoder (Naomi) argues her case on the grounds of “turning the cheek,” but the Lord was talking about ignoring an insult for the sake of peace in that passage (since the statement referred to responding to a backhanded slap to the face); he wasn’t talking about dealing with serious criminal acts, like murder.
As far as criminal acts go, Christ plainly said, “If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.” Nehemiah 4 emphasizes how the returning Hebrews to Jerusalem “did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other.” In other words, self-protection (including protecting your loved ones) against criminal threat is a natural right.
For anyone who argues that Christ condemned living by the sword, there’s a vast difference between “living by the sword” and utilizing it when necessary. This explains why the disciples had swords in their possession for protection against thieves and cutthroats in their long travels, as shown in Luke 22:49-50.
The other interesting topic concerns religious sectarianism and the issues thereof. The group shown in the movie are noble people, no doubt, but Johnny Gault (Daly) observes that they’ve inadvertently hindered their faith by an obsession with rules, which is legal-ism. The problem with this is that “the letter kills”; and this explains what happens to Rebecca’s brother. Will she allow legalism to kill her & her family (literally or figuratively) or will she escape? This has nothing to do with faith in God and everything to do with not putting God in a man-made box, which stifles life and stultifies growth.
It runs 1 hours, 58 minutes, and was shot in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
GRADE: A-
