John Cusack is Myrl Redding, a horse breeder trying to make a living in the wilds of Wyoming. He butts heads with Henry Ballard (L.Q. Jones), who runs the nearby town, hates the idea of statehood and figures what he says should go.
So when Redding tries to take his horses to market, he finds that Ballard has erected a toll gate along the road. He doesn’t have the entire toll, so he agrees to leave behind two prize stallions as collateral.
When he returns to pay his debt, he finds the horses bleeding and penned in a pool of mud. Incensed, he files suit against Ballard, only to find the local judge takes his orders from the cattleman.
On the verge of taking matters into his own hands, Redding agrees to let his wife travel to Casper to take the issue to the attorney general. When she dies in an accident caused by Ballard’s men, Redding cracks. He buries his wife, leaves his son under the care of a neighbor, sells his land and hires a band of men to track down Ballard.
His demand is simple: Ballard will work in his stable until the stallions are back in the condition they were when they arrived at the toll booth. And Ballard will pay $50 in compensation to an Indian named Billy, who works on Redding’s ranch and was badly beaten by Ballard’s men.
Review:
Well-done Western, with strong performances all around, especially from Cusack and Goodman, who plays the judge Redding and Ballard eventually wind up answering to. And Jones makes for a villain you can’t help but despise.
Kudos to the filmmakers for not trying to foist a Hollywood ending on this tragic tale. Cusack might be the hero of the film, but he’s also a flawed man. His personal pursuit of justice winds up hurting unintended victims, and he comes to find himself surrounded not by friends and neighbors, but by paid mercenaries.
The story plays out while Wyoming is pursuing statehood and at a time when those in power will agree to nearly anything to quiet hostilities and put on a civilized show from a visiting delegation from back East.
The script was written by Cusack’s father.
John Cusack as Myrl Redding in Jack Bull (1999)
L.Q. Jones as Henry Ballard in Jack Bull (1999)
Directed by:
John Badham
Cast:
John Cusack … Myrl Redding
John Goodman … Judge Tolliver
L.Q. Jones … Henry Ballard
Miranda Otto … Cora Redding
Drake Bell … Cage Redding
John C. McGinley … Woody
Rodney A. Grant … Billy
John Savage … Slater
Kurt Fuller … Conrad
Ken Pogue … Judge Wilkins
Scott Wilson … Governor
Runtime: 116 min.
John Goodman as Judge Tolliver in Jack Bull (1999)
John C. McGinley as Woody in Jack Bull (1999)
Memorable lines:
Judge to Myrl’s lawyer: “You’re hauling shit up a mountain, Rayburn. Careful it don’t spill on you.”
Myrl to his wife, Cora: “If people are going to kick me, I’d rather be a dog than a man, Cora. So if justice is to be done, don’t deny me the freedom I need to get it.”
Governor: “The statehood of Wyoming will not be held up by a piss fight over two horses and a Crow Indian. Do you understand me? I want this settled now.”
Myrl: “It’s justice I’m looking for. It’s justice I’ll get. I’ll track it as long as I’m breathing. Even if it costs me my life.”
Rodney A. Grant as Billy in Jack Bull (1999)
Miranda Ott as Cora Redding in Jack Bull (1999)
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