Sprawling, epic but overlong western much changed from the excellent novel and not for the better. Sabra, the lead character, was in the book a naive but resourceful woman who became through necessity a tower of strength and who was understanding and willing to lose whatever prejudices she had quickly while forging a
life for herself and her children in the wilds of Oklahoma since Yancy, her husband was a born wanderer and would disappear for years at a time. In the movie she's a bigoted simpering harpy. That was her daughter Donna, who is completely missing from the film, in the book apparently they grafted those qualities on to her for the movie. A shame to ruin a great character that way. However the movie does have a good cast and beautiful photograpy, the land rush is very impressive, overall though a disappointment.
June 7, 2009
