Review of 'Doc'

There are moments of silence in this avant garde western where you might find yourself reaching for aspirin because of a silence is deafening headache. As Doc Hollifay, Stacy Keach speaks in such low tones that you want to check his pulse to check if the life is fading out of him. The exquisitely beautiful Faye Dunaway is initially seen dirty and disgusting, a prostitute so filthy that disease seems to ooze off of her. Clean her up, and she's in a bridal gown, literately carrying Keach over the threshold. Harris Yulin is Doc's old friend, Marshal Wyatt Earp, determined to clean up Tombstone even if he has to steal the upcoming election to do so. These three try to hold together an obscure artistic western that fails to come together and retain interest.

At times, it seems that Tombstone is built over dead ground, so bland and empty that it seems like those who live there are ghost already. The actors are directed to either speak slowly and softly with long pauses, or be so crude that they come off as walking slimebags who you just don't want to see on screen. I can see people either loving this or hating it, and while I just found it aggravating, I have to call myself annoyed by it. Sometimes a certain piece of artwork is a masterpiece to some while others don't want to invest time analyzing it. I finally got to the point where I just closed my eyes and let the purposely soothing voices steer me to sleep.