Open Range

This sprawling Western chronicles the end of an era. The open range is closing, the West is becoming more crowded, ranchers are staking claims to the land, and fences threaten the way of life of the free-range cowboy. Boss Spearman and his crew of drovers come up against a corrupt landowner and his gang of thugs. The result is predictable--murder and mayhem, with a soupon of romance. Barrett Whitener's narration is as slow as a cattle drive across the Western landscape. His reading is cheerless but strangely appropriate to the grinding nature of life in the saddle. Whitener's performance of Spearman's and Waite's mutual embarrassment over their friendship is spot-on. When Waite bumps into romance, Whitener handles his befuddlement and clumsy attempts at courtship with warmth and amusement. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine