Late Westerns: The Persistence of a Genre by Lee Clark Mitchell (review)

Building off his previous book Westerns: Making the Man in Fiction and Film, within Late Westerns: The Persistence of a Genre Lee Clark Mitchell examines the lasting cinematic and cultural impact of the Western film genre. Mitchell argues that the tendency to label contemporary Western films as postwestern does the genre a disservice. Rather than labeling films outside the traditional expectations tied to Westerns as “post,” Mitchell encourages readers to categorize them as Late Westerns, united in their use of subversive elements to reinvigorate the genre. Mitchell uses close readings of eight Western films spanning from Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) to The Counselor (2013) to argue that the Western genre is alive and well and ever-changing to adapt to new audiences and social contexts. By seeking nuance in categorization of films, and the need society feels to continue categorizing them, Mitchell argues that we can begin to better understand the lasting appeal of the Western throughout Hollywood history.

While the limitation of the argument to merely eight films (one per chapter, with the exception of chapter 5) has the potential to limit the book’s efficacy, the breadth of the films lends great strength to the argument. From Mitchell’s analysis of Bad Day at Black Rock as an early example of a subversion of Western genre ideals to his dissection of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) and fragmented narrative structures in Late Westerns, the argumentative thread of Late Westerns carries readers through cinematic history in a clear and unified manner.

In the book’s second half Mitchell turns his focus to adaptation and genre subversion through examination of films like A History of Violence (2005) and No Country for Old Men (2007). Although the second half can feel a bit repetitive from a theory perspective, the variety of films examined turns this into one of the book’s greatest strengths. By examining the many ways in which elements of the genres of melodrama, thriller, and noir intermingle with Westerns, Mitchell paints the Late Western as a testament to the ability of the genre to allow for outside influences and genre blending, necessary to facilitate its lasting cultural appeal.

Scholars familiar with the Western genre of film and literature will find this book of particular value, as will those concerned with questions of genre in film studies. Its greatest strength lies in the variety of films selected for close viewing. Mitchell’s decision to begin with a film from the 1950s bolsters his argument that this type of Western has been around since the genre’s heyday, and inclusion of The Counselor (2013) illuminates the genre-bending tendency of Late Westerns. While Mitchell’s argument seems somewhat repetitive at times, the variety of films allows this to be overlooked. Mitchell makes an overall clear and persuasive argument for the continuation of the Western film genre and that there is nothing “post” about it.