Hud

Dreary drama about three generations of uninteresting men trying to get a handle on their lives. It's not what you call a very subtle film and whatever drama there is, is handled with the grace of a sledgehammer. The final nail is the wooden performances, which make it even harder to sit through.

Hud is living with the dad and nephew on a ranch. When he hears the cattle may be infected he wants to sell the herd off as quickly as possible, but Hud's father wants to set a good example for his younger nephew, and he decides to destroy the animals. Hud doesn't agree with this decision.

Hud isn't a very pleasant character, and Newman had all the trouble in the world trying to channel that into a solid performance. The setting is dire (the black-and-white cinematography doesn't help), the drama is crude and the pacing is slow. Kudos for trying to make a more realistic Western I guess, but that doesn't make it a good film.