(Peter Fonda/1971/USA)
This post hippie western works as
an allegory for the end of the 60’s generation of peaceniks and long haired
love lubbers and is paced just right, lolloping along like a ranchero after hot
knives. On the cusp of a golden era of American cinema it fits in very nicely
as a mildly experimental reworking of western tropes with some sweet
cinematography and a decent soundtrack too. Fonda directs and stars as Harry,
the travel weary hipster cowboy who decides to return to his abandoned family;
attempting to literally work his way back into their affections as a hired hand
on his wife’s farm. The friendship he has forged over his seven years of
wandering the frontier with Archie draws him away once again though when news
of Archie being in trouble reaches him. 
The story centres on character
and emotional transition, not action, unusual for the western genre but done
really well. There are two scenes with typical western action that pivot the
rest of the narrative but in the main The Hired Hand hones in on how the desire
for freedom conflicts directly with the traditional family set up. And that’s
where the allegory for the death of the 60’s comes in; it questions if any real
contentment or fulfilment is found in the free ranging life of Harry and Archie
and suggests that ultimately, happiness is rooted in settling down. It’s a slow
burner but the measured pace is a sign of maturity, allowing the emotional
resonance of the story to gently expand to the final scenes. A quirky 70’s
revisionist western that put me in mind of watching The Missouri Breaks, which
treads similar ground; they’d make a great double bill.
(3/5)
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