Pale Rider

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Pale Rider is available in Australia on Netflix right now. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Clint Eastwood leads a cast that never overplays its hand. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Netflix.

Pale Rider arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Pale Rider earns every emotional beat it goes for. A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land. Clint Eastwood and Michael Moriarty lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1985. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in Pale Rider. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Clint Eastwood is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.