Critic's Grade: B

Edward Zwick's "Legends of the Fall" contains just enough epic Hollywood filmmaking bravura to make up for what would otherwise be an overdone melodrama that doesn't know when to call it quits. This plodding story centers around former Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins), who has relocated to the Western frontier with his wife and three children: Tristan (Brad Pitt), known as his favorite; Alfred (Aidan Quinn), who aspires to be like his father; and Samuel (Henry Thomas), who takes up arms when the tide of World War I shifts in favor of the Germans, leaving behind his bride-to-be, Susannah (Julia Ormond). The war, as it always does, changes the lives of each of these characters, most noticeably Tristan, who witnesses Samuel's murder and is psychologically scarred by it. Upn his return home, he and Susannah begin a passionate romance, but even it cannot overcome the emotional thunderstorm brewing inside of him. When he departs for places unknown, lives evolve in ways that cannot be erased.

The screenplay by Susan Shilliday and Bill Wittliff is based on the novel by Jim Harrison, which is adequate when looked back upon in retrospect. The movie is an amalgam of the frontier adventure, the romantic love guadrangle, and the character-based meller, its events structured like that of a book, though with the nagging feeling that some of the bigger, more loftier issues were shaved down to fit the running time. The plot takes its time in developing subplots and characters, and tends to dwindle in places, but for those with the attention span and a liking for good old-fashioned filmmaking, this will prove to be a rewarding asset.

In the film's favor are the strong characterization and the performers who work to bring these people to life. As the centerpiece of the story, Pitt is required to shoulder much of the material's emotional weight, and he does a fine job in portraying Tristan as a man continuously plagued by the tragedies of his life. Aidan Quinn is perfect in the role of brother Alfred; Julia Ormond shows great strength as the female lead; and before his character is reduced to a stroke-stricken invalid, Anthony Hopkins is remarkable and burnished as their father, who despite his sternness shows a genuine love for his children. Accompanied with some brilliant cinematography by John Toll, a romanticized score from James Horner, and Zwick's attentiveness to the epic stature of the picture, these elements coalesce to make "Legends of the Fall" a movie that strives for greatness, and almost makes it.

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