Paul Newman's Darkest Western Is A Masterpiece You Have To Watch

While he portrayed a few scoundrels, Paul Newman didn't play a lot of villains during his long career, probably because he always seemed like such a likable guy. Even in the underrated crime drama "Road to Perdition," where he was one of the main antagonists, he came across as sympathetic and grandfatherly. But there's one exception that stands out in Newman's filmography: "Hud," the bleak 1963 contemporary Western from director Martin Ritt. In "Hud," Newman plays quite possibly the most detestable character he ever played — although it must be stated that Newman is so handsome and charming that there are times in the film where you sort of like his character. Sort of.

"Hud," one of Newman's very best films, has a new 4K release courtesy of the Criterion Collection which gave me an excuse to finally watch the film for the first time. I'm glad I did, because it's a great movie. However, it's also a movie I'm not sure I ever want to watch again, because it left me feeling overwhelmingly depressed. That's cinema, folks!

Adapted (loosely) from the novel "Horseman, Pass By," by "Lonesome Dove" author Larry McMurtry, "Hud" sees Newman play Hud Bannon, the rougeish, womanizing son of kindly Texas rancher Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas). Hud sleeps around with married women, is idolized by his young nephew Lonnie (Brandon deWilde), and constantly flirts with Alma (Patricia Neal), the family's no-nonsense housekeeper. Life seems relatively good, if simple, for Hud in his small Texas town. And then everything changes for the worse.

Hud's father Homer owns a large herd of cattle and the family has made a healthy profit off the cows over the years. But everything is about to come crashing down when the Bannons find out that their cows might have dreaded foot-and-mouth disease. The only remedy for this, at least as far as the government is concerned, is to slaughter the entire herd to prevent a further outbreak. Hud balks at the idea, but Homer, an honest, law-abiding man, is willing to do what needs to be done, even though it breaks his heart and he knows killing the cows will surely bring about his financial ruin.

This relatively simple setup spirals into an existential crisis. Hud has no interest in doing the right thing, ever, and he works hard to turn his nephew to his side to turn against Homer. Lonnie is conflicted about this, because while he thinks Hud is just about the coolest guy in the world, he also loves his grandfather. And then there's Alma, who is willing to flirt with Hud while also seemingly seeing his true colors beneath his handsome looks.

Newman is fantastic here, playing Hud as a guy who you could easily like ... if you only saw him occasionally. But the more time you spend with Hud, the more you realize how cruel he can be, especially when he gets to drinking. Newman, one of the most beautiful men to ever grace the silver screen, uses his perfect looks to his advantage. He turns Hud into a kind of charming venomous snake about to spit poison in your face.

Shot by legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe (who won an Oscar for his work on the film; Douglas and Neal also won Oscars for their respective performances), "Hud' is stark and gorgeous, with the wide open sky and vast empty land rendered in crisp black and white that makes the entire film feel like a noir-tinged dream. But it's not a pleasant dream.

"Hud" has all the trappings of a Western, but this isn't the type of Western with shootouts and lawmen and bandits. It's about ordinary people who find the weight of the world crashing down on them. We get brief little glimpses into Hud's history, which gives us an idea as to why he behaves the way he does while also not absolving him of his sins.

By the time "Hud" reaches its haunting, lonely, but seemingly inevitable conclusion, don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to take a long, reflective walk in the bright sunlight to clear the darkness from your head.