Good evening, everyone! Tonight, we are going to go in the world of the Old West. Specifically, we are taking about what may be the Old West in Australia, and starring Tom Seleck, Laura San Giacomo, and Alan Rickman to name a few. The one, and only, Quigley Down Under.
Plot: Set in the Australian Old West, when the British Empire ruled that part of the world, a cowboy named Matthew Quigley (Tom Seleck) arrives there to meet up with a captain named Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman). But when Marston asks Quigley to use his sharp shooting skills to massacre the Aboriginal tribes in the area. So he, and a woman named Crazy Cora (Laura San Giacomo) get dumped in the Outback, and treated as outlaws, and fugitives. However, they get rescued by Aboriginal people in the area. With the help of the Aboriginals, and Crazy Cora, can Quigley eventually defeat Elliott Marston, and his thugs once and for all?
Okay, first of all, is it just me, or did quite a few films that took place in Australia, as well as got released in the 1990s, get titled something Down Under? I mean think about it! There was this film that was titled Quigley Down Under, as well as the Disney film, The Rescuers Down Under (which, like this film, was also released in 1990). If anyone can give me an example of a film that was set in Australia, got released in the 1990s, and didn’t have the words “Down Under” attached you that film title, please let me know! With all that said, how was this film overall? Well, there are a few areas where this film could have possibly improved. Still, Quigley Down Under is overall good.
Nevertheless, you might be wondering, “What could have possibly made Quigley Down Under better? Well, to begin, there’s the relationship between Matthew Quigley, and Crazy Cora. Okay, the dynamic between them is established fairly well. However, in some ways, you might find yourself thinking that there could have most likely been a little more chemistry between the two of them. Next, to a degree, there’s our main character, Matthew Quigley. Oh, he’s established very well, with us seeing how much of an expert shooter he is, and things like that. However, as you watch this film, it’s almost like people like Crazy Cora seemed to steal the spotlight in terms of getting fleshed out a little more than people like him. Still, that doesn’t mean that he’s a badly written character, because he still is. He just maybe could have been a little better. One other thing to mention is that there are some deaths that occur in this film as well. When it comes to some of those people that get killed off at one, or two points in this film, we don’t seem to feel that sad, and emotional feel that we might say for Mufasa’s death in The Lion King, or William Wallace in Braveheart, or someone like that. The reason being is because we don’t get to feel that much of an emotional attachment to those characters, and don’t seem to feel that pull at your heartstrings moments as well because if that, you know? Well, this film was almost two hours long. So I guess there’s so much you can do, eh? Still, would it have maybe been a little too much to ask for this film to be an extra 15-20 minutes, if not slightly more than that? You got me!
Now, what are the areas that make this film good? Well, first of all, there’s the score by Basil Poledouris. Like other good music composers, Poledouris knows how to engage the audience with his music. He also seems to understand what music was probably like during this particular time period of history. There’s really great cinematography in Quigley Down Under. If this film didn’t win an Oscar, or even a Golden Globe for Best Cinematography at either of this award ceremonies, then that’s too bad, because if may have deserved that, along with maybe Best Actor for Tom Seleck, or Alan Rickman, and/or even Best actress for Laura San Giacomo. This film could also provide a potential mini history lesson about how Britain apparently controlled Australia during this time period of history. The heroes, and villains are also mostly, if not fully well written too. Truth be told, one could possibly argue that Rickman, who played the villain, Elliott Marston, in this film, may have easily given us a sneak peek of how well he would do with future villain roles such as Professor Snapes in the Harry Potter movie franchise that would get released a little over a decade later. The script, and the comedy are also really well tuned in this film too. Oh, and as for Matthew Quigley, even if he could have possibly been written up better, he is well written in that he not only shoots well, but does a surprisingly fantastic job at assessing situations from afar, and truly thinking through what to say, or do in those situations. Th ere are also the costume designs. Wow, the costume designs are another area of his the setting of this film is really captured well. One other thing to mention is that Quigley Down Under is great at teaching people that we should be willing to do what’s right, even if it means turning a good job down, possibly getting persecuted, or things like that.
And that’s my review for Quigley Down Under. Even if it might not be quite perfect, it still has plenty of heart in it, has excellent music, mostly well written characters, and teaches some valuable lessons that we, the audience, could take away from this film. If you haven’t seen Quigley Down Under, I would highly recommend it. That is especially if you like actors such as Tom Seleck, Alan Rickman, or people like them.
Final Grade: B+
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