SOMEWHERE IN MONTANA– 3 STARS

LESSON #1: PAINTING A DICHOTOMY BETWEEN MEN– From the get-go of Somewhere in Montana, a dichotomy is painted very quickly between its two featured men. Living on a generational family ranch located in the film’s titular state is the plainly-named John Alexander, played by Outlander and The Hobbit ensemble member Graham McTavish. Boy, does the Scotsman look the part with his dramatically-curved wide-brimmed hat, belt-buckled jeans, and carrying on a temperament as brusque as his silver beard is bristled. Across from John is the up-and-coming California filmmaker Fabian Verdugo, played by lesser-known actor Matt Drago. His progressive personality matches his flashier name and more ostentatious fashion and language choices. 

The characters are brought together by a Hollywood-tinged premise. The aging and struggling rancher with bills piling up during tough economic times needs the sizable financial influx proposed to him of lending his idyllic land (filmed sumptuously around the towns of Polson, MT, and Ronan, MT south of Kalispell and Glacier National Park) as a filming location for a handsomely-budgeted period piece movie. Brought together by this tenuous business relationship, John and Fabian in Somewhere in Montana are posited to be opposites in nearly every superficial way, right down to the dissimilar actors—one a seasoned industry vet and one who’s never touched the blockbusters the other has—portraying them. 

A different version of Somewhere in Montana could have leaned hard on this conceit by turning up the caricature color of this painted dichotomy. For flair, John could have been framed as a loony hayseed with a hair trigger and all sorts of firebranded conservative quirks. Likewise for Fabian, the sense of refinement from the invading urbanite could have been amplified with LGBTQ+ stereotypes. Count writer-director Brandon Smith as a wiser gentleman who avoided, for the most part, reaching for those types of low-hanging fruit. These featured men are surprisingly deeper than their outward tropes, and their qualities thicken, ever so slightly, what could have been a narrow movie.

As it turns out, John is at a crossroads where seemingly everything in his life is changing, from the waning success of his ranch to his overall happiness. He continues to mourn the passing of his wife two years earlier, and his supportive local buddies—including the token Native American representative Bob (Andrew Roa of The Transcenders) in a film that thanks eight tribes, led by the conferederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, in the end credits—just let him be, for better or worse. It took his loyal yet wing-spreading daughter Laney (The Harvester’s Kaleigh Macchio) to bring this lucrative opportunity to the table and make it happen.

Fabian arrives in northwestern Montana with his encouraging producer Kat (Star Trek: Picard cast member Michelle Hurd) with a film that is being held up by his obsessive working style and the budget to find the right main location. Verdugo is shooting a historical film about two key women homesteaders challenging the patriarchy of the American West. Cast by Fabian were star actress Dahlia James (Kate Orsini of A Nashville Wish) and a never-was one named Rebecca (Tashia Gates of the upcoming The Wolf and the Lamb). Needless to say, John and his country civics do not agree with the subject matter of Fabian’s film.

LESSON #2: SHOW THAT YOU DESERVE RESPECT– As the two butt heads, get in each other’s way, and inject presumptive politics into incomplete judgments, the movie production goes nowhere, jeopardizing their mutually dependent chance at success. Firing off verbal volleys and leaving in huffs, neither man understands the other until Somewhere in Montana lingers in the aftermath requiring them to shed some pride and discover the thing they both fiercely want: Respect. The film moves past the simplicity of “giving respect to get respect” and ventures down the trail of “show that you deserve respect.”

Revealing a core divided by stoutness and devotion, Graham McTavish does not overplay the emotional metamorphosis anymore than he does donning this cowboy exterior in the first place. His effort and screen presence are magnetic and genuine. Every “yep” fits the part while every uncorked small monologue grabs rightful attention. Matt Drago’s performance and matching shift of his own character does not quite equal those of McTavish. It’s not that he’s outclassed. Drago holds his own. It’s that Brandon Smith’s script still has its tendencies to default to Fabian back to diva artist traits once tender moments wear off.

A balancing grace within the cast of Somewhere in Montana comes from the second level occupied by the surrounding women. While the men have their moments, Kaleigh Macchio, Tashia Gates, and Michelle Hurd are, without question, the most rational and impassioned presences in the film. Kaleigh’s subplots, in particular, as the go-between bonding with Rebecca off the set and as the daughter missing the family matriarch in her own way are engrossing and still underexplored. With a different slant or shift of emphasis and no disrespect to McTavish, Laney’s character could have easily been used at the center of Smith’s sophomore film instead of the squabbling-turned-soulful men. 

LESSON #3: SOFT RECEPTION TO TOUGH TALK– All the while, the acts of coming together for conversations win over hearts and strong minds. Once each man witnesses the personal convictions and principles of the other, the start of that missing respect is found and gathered. All the tough talk from outwardly contradictory people is increasingly returned with soft reception, set to the lovely violin and viola solos from Jason and Nola Livesay’s musical score. By the same token, the women cement their worth as well. In doing so, Somewhere in Montana reveals its true dramatic colors which are mature, pertinent, and valuable in their intrinsic quality.