PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Abbigail Bush
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Martin Bradley
We've been down this road before and to better effect but "The Outsider", a made-for-television variation on both "Shane" and "Witness", isn't at all bad. Naomi Watts, (excellent), is the Mennonite widow who takes in a wounded gunfighter, (Timothy Daly), who in turn helps her in her battle with the men who murdered her husband and naturally they fall in love, much to the displeasure of her family and community. It's fairly conventional but it's well acted and it's entertaining. The director was Randa Haines, who made "Children of a Lesser God", and a good supporting cast includes the Carradine brothers, David and Keith.
dsmoore-2
I agree wholeheartedly with all the other positive reviews here. Watts and Daly have the chemistry; the movie is beautifully filmed, and the pace is excellent. What I'm thrown by is the references to the author; I see Penelope Williamson credited often. In my opinion, the only Penelope that should get a nod is Penelope Worth; she was the original name of the Quaker girl Gail Russell played in "Angel and the Badman", of which this is an unabashed remake. The story setup is the same: near-death gunslinger nursed back to health by the beautiful Quaker girl. Gunslinger has epiphany regarding peace and the "plain folk" and fights internally with the conflict till the end. Both play give-and-take. I think Penelope Williamson ought to thank James Edward Grant for being the REAL source material.
winner55
This is one of the best of the revisionist western made-for-TV films that have been pouring forth over the past decade - most of which are pretty dull. and the three major creative spirits to the film are all women, so I wasn't expecting much for a genre that has always been dominated by an undeniable machismo, whether you think that's a good thing or not.But the writing and direction here are very strong. Yes it does get mushy romantic at times, but it never quite loses its edge.And yes, it is derivative of Shane and a host of like films, but it still finds something new to say.The acting is all around superb, but Tim Daly's is worthy of special mention. And the camera-work is quite beautiful - I really wish this had been brought to the big screen.My only problem is historical-political: This film came out when television was busy bashing non-mainstream religions - Islam, Catholicism (oh, those randy priests!), and the Amish. This was a wretched moment in TV history, and it is embarrassing to this film that it was made during that period; still, I think there's enough respect shown the Amish such that the film will survive such silly politics.
sally-69
This film delivered on two things that the film world rarely does well: 1. the struggles of believers, submitted to God, in a world of violence and self-centeredness and 2. romance Both my husband and I enjoyed it.Critical to the success of the film was Timothy Daly's acting. He was fabulous! He made his character believable and interesting to watch. Naomi did a great job also. The setting (and the way it was filmed) was enjoyable also. I thought the script was good. The story moved along nicely while developing the characters. A person who was an orphan, who was tortured, without love, cut off emotionally, and involved in soul-scarring violence found love, a home, a family, and peace.
