Cable brough us this drama set in the Colorado of the wild west, a small family of settlers is in trouble, including a little magic.

Maggie (Kate Blanchette) is the widowed mother of two girls, settled with some cattle. She's got a beau, Brake (Aaron Eckhart), who'd like to marry, but she's a little shy about that. Tommy Lee Jones plays, Samuel Jones, her absentee father turned Indian. He visits for a little family time, but is promptly turned away.

Out on a cattle branding job, Brake and their handyman are killed when Indians kidnap Maggie's older daughter, Lily, and cart her off for sale in Mexico. Younger daughter, Dot, is overlooked as she hides nearby. Maggie begs the army for help, but they set off in the wrong direction.

She gets assistance from her father tracking the kidnappers and her daughter. A bit of bonding ensues as dad proves himself to be an OK guy after all.

Aside from the obvious conflict of the kidnapping, there is much conflict between the lead characters. Sam's wandering ways had led him to leave Maggie's mother when she was still a child, leading to her death and the eventual death of her brother; this is the core to her resentment. He redeems himself by selflessly aiding in the pursuit of the kidnappers. He softens her with tales of having a wandering spirit. She learns through another Indian he's known in the past, that he's had a full life, full of other wanderings and wives and families.

She eventually forgives him.

The setting is very consistent. It's winter in Colorado, and things warm quickly as they make their way through New Mexico, although it probably wasn't New Mexico yet; it wasn't really Colorado, it was the territory still. All of the characters are frightened of the Indians, and much prejudice and bigotry is fairly accurately portrayed. The costumes match the period, and the general tone, too.

In typical Ron Howard fashion, the scenery is wide and plentiful. I don't believe it was shot with the panoramic views of Far and Away, but many drawn out pans bring out the vastness of the area our heroes are trudging through.

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