The Claim

REVIEW
Director Winterbottom's second adaptation of Thomas Hardy (the first being Jude) is equally glum, but The Claim does have some rewards. Based on "The Mayor of Casterbridge," the film stars Mullan as the "king" of a small but flourishing mining town in the Old West, who runs the town with a strict but fair hand. Railroad company man Bentley arrives to survey the town on the same day as Kinski -- a figure from Mullan's shady past -- and her lovely daughter (Polley). Soon all these lives intersect. The Claim is as grimy and gritty as most Hollywood westerns are sweeping and artificial, but the film suffers in comparison to the similiarly atmospheric McCabe and Mrs. Miller, which had a great deal more to say about its time and place. The acting is all fine, and the low-key story is compelling, but it's too slow and arid to hit the mark.