Legends of the Fall (1994)

Family drama, romance, war and an examination of masculinity all thrive in this beautifully shot film by Edward Zwick. Featuring a talented cast, beautiful location filming and plenty of meaty, makes-you-think subject matter, Legends of the Fall is a film that every man should see and one that every woman might be able to enjoy as well.

After becoming disillusioned with the US government, Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) moves his family to the frontier lands of Montana. His wife chooses to return to the East Coast after the harsh winters are too much for her, leaving Ludlow to raise his three sons with the help of a few Native American farmhands. As the boys grow up, it is clear that they are all wired differently. Alfred (Aidan Quinn) is the cautious rule follower, Tristan (Brad Pitt) the wild and macho boy, and Samuel (Henry Thomas) is smart but naïve.

Samuel goes to college and returns one day with a beautiful fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond). Both Alfred and Tristan are smitten with the lovely lady but Susannah is more taken by Tristan’s machismo than Alfred’s business savvy. Caught up in the whirlwind of war, all three brothers join the Canadian Expeditionary Force to fight the Germans in World War I. Samuel dies in combat, leading Tristan to go on a testosterone and rage-fueled rampage behind enemy lines. While this scenario is mostly outrageous, it serves to solidify Tristan’s wild man persona.

Alfred and Tristan return home, where Alfred proposes to Susannah and promises that his business prospects offer a good and stable life for the two of them. Susannah declines and falls into the arms of Tristan instead. This drives the brothers apart on multiple levels. First, Alfred is merely jealous for losing Susannah’s affections. Second, he is fed up with his brother’s irresponsible way of life and chastises Tristan for not be stable husband material. This falling out ends with Alfred swearing off his family and leaving the estate to pursue business ventures in Helena.

Plagued by guilt for one brother’s death and the other’s abandonment of the family, Tristan takes off to wrestle with his demons in the wild. For years, he travels the globe and struggles to reconcile with all that he has done and could not do. Susannah struggles to cope without Tristan and gives in to Alfred’s proposals. All is well and good until Tristan returns. Susannah’s feelings for the wild man come rushing back, Alfred still has nothing but spite for his brother and Tristan’s attempt to form a normal life comes crashing down around him.

Despite all of the beautiful scenery and solid cinematography, Legends of the Fall never really grips you the way it wants to. While the drama is quite good (though it does border on soapy territory on more than one occasion), the overall effect of the film is that of watching events unfold rather than experiencing these events with the characters. Perhaps this is because Tristan is too perfectly untamable and Alfred is too perfectly constructed as a proper man. Not until the film’s final minutes do we see any serious change in these characters’ tones.

Despite this sizable shortcoming, Legends of the Fall is a great reflection on masculinity. Alfred and Tristan’s outlooks are polar opposites and their discussions and observations give you a lot to think about. There has to be a middle ground somewhere between Tristan’s nature boy and Alfred’s spineless profiteer but this rare blend of boldness and sensibleness still eludes us to this day. I can’t tell if that should come as comfort to men who struggle to find this balance or if it will only serve to frustrate us further to know that this battle to be the best man possible hasn’t been at a stalemate for centuries.

The acting in this film helps hold the story together at time. Brad Pitt goes all out to capture the essence of Tristan, Aidan Quinn is sharp as a tack as Alfred, and Anthony Hopkins is enjoyable as ever as the distressed and later curmudgeonly father. If not for their dedication and spot-on performances, this film could have easily been dismissed as prairie romance pulp.

While there are many parts of the story that aren’t likely to be remembered long after the final reel, Legends of the Fall is a captivating tale. Sit back and marvel at the scenery and get your brain ready for a post-film discussion about what it takes to be a “real man.”

RATING: 3.5 out of 5