This is an unrelentingly grim movie set in 1864 in lawless Texas and New Mexico. It's a movie about vengeance. There's no greater meaning. Macho Callahan wants to hunt down and kill the guy who tricked him into enlisting in the Confederate army, which led to him being thrown in Camp Hooks Military Prison for desertion because he wouldn't go to war. Alexandra Mountford wants to hunt down and kill Macho for killing her husband over a bottle of champagne.
I like David Janssen in westerns. He's great with horses and he looks tough. It's a strong, steady performance. The word that comes to mind when I think back to his portrayal of the aptly named character Macho is unflinching. It describes his demeanor as he stares down the barrel of a gun at the beginning of the movie. It describes his interaction with David Carradine's character. It describes how he looks at Lee J. Cobb's character after they pitch a game of horseshoes. And it's how he looks when Bo Hopkins' character calls him out for insulting a lady. But David Janssen was able to imbue his character with a lot of sympathy, even though that character exhibited a lot of violence.
The actor I really enjoyed watching was Pedro Armendariz Jr. though. He plays Macho's friend Juan, the nicest person in the entire movie. And with a friend like Juan, it helps to define Macho as a stand-up guy. We don't get a lot from the sparse dialogue aside from Juan suggesting to Alexandra that she should use her heart in order to understand people. So it's this friendship (and his care for a bear cub) that gives us insight into Macho's character.
Jean Seberg as Alexandra is lovely, has a very direct gaze but could have been a little more expressive. I liked her very much although she's the one that sets in motion the bounty hunters. Diane Ladd has a tiny role and she gets to chew the scenery a bit in her one scene; it's one of the few times we get a break during this somber and dramatic movie. The prison camp scenes are harrowing though well done. The moment when Macho actually breaks out through the gates is great. The fight scene when Alexandra tries to kill Macho with a poker and he fights back is quite brutal and tough to watch.
It's a dark, tragic tale which I don't want to see again any time soon, even though I liked it. It's just too sad.
