Far and Away

What’s the Story?

In FAR AND AWAY, Ron Howard teams up with Tom Cruise and delicate-looking Nicole Kidman to bring an epic vision of the Westward expansion, Western ingenuity, and destiny. Cruise's plays Joseph, an Irish tenant farmer and the runt of his family. He's bullied and picked on and has big dreams. On his deathbed, Joseph's father all but orders him to get some land to prove his virility: "Without land, a man is nothing. Land is a man's very own soul. America," he gasps, "that's what you're looking for." Joseph travels to his landlord's house to avenge his father's death, and the landlord's daughter, Shannon (Kidman), whisks Joseph away with her to America, both dreaming of owning land on the western frontier of Oklahoma. Along the way, they face challenges to their physical, emotional, and spiritual health from people who exploit them, steal from them, and chase them.

Is It Any Good?

The premise doesn't have to make sense. Just go with it. It's all fate. They're fated to be together -- though we know it long before they admit it. Joseph is fated to own land. Shannon is fated to be a "modern" woman.

Far and Away has all the markings of an epic, even a race -- with covered wagons. But its land-grab scene with horses and wagons toppling over one another is unintentionally hilarious. With a two hour and 20 minute running time, you'll be glad to have something to smile about in this intriguing but plodding movie.