Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp may be the lead character of Tombstone, but he is not the beloved Western movie’s hero. There is no doubt that Russell cuts a classically Western figure as the real-life lawman Earp, whose exploits in the frontier town of Tombstone, Arizona cemented him as a legend of the Old West. Russell’s version of Earp is without question the movie’s center of gravity, the story detailing a heavily fictionalized version of what went down after Earp arrived in the rowdy boomtown of the movie’s тιтle.
But this is not necessarily the version of Earp one might expect. Tombstone may indeed have a lot in common with classic Westerns, but it does not present things in simple black-and-white terms, as do so many Golden Age examples of the genre. It may not be correct to call Tombstone a revisionist Western, but it would be accurate to say that Russell’s Wyatt Earp is not presented as a white-hatted good guy in the pre-revisionist mold.
Wyatt Earp Is Not The Hero Of Tombstone
In Some Ways, He’s More Of An Anti-Hero
Countless Westerns are built on the premise of a lawman arriving to clean up a lawless town. In Tombstone, Wyatt Earp gets off the train not seeking to dispense justice, but to make his fortune. Earp quickly makes it clear that he wants nothing more to do with bringing down bad guys, unless it helps him get ahead.
When Earp confronts Billy Bob Thornton’s out-of-hand Faro dealer at the Oriental Saloon, it’s not because he’s morally outraged at the man’s conduct, it’s because he wants to take over the Faro table. The former lawman behaves like a gangster muscling his way in on the town’s action. This is not Gary Cooper stoically facing down the bad guys, but a seemingly unhinged, venal maniac.
Despite its enduring popularity, Tombstone has only a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Earp may have some justification for thinking he’s enтιтled to make his fortune after having rendered noble service as a lawman. He may even be justified in his gangster-like tactics, given the rules of the world he lives in. It’s harder to defend the way he deals with his wife Mattie (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), a laudanum-addict who seems utterly miserable about being in Tombstone. Earp could seemingly care less about his suffering spouse, quickly turning his attentions to Dana Delaney’s fetching Josephine, an itinerant performer.The movie appears to condone Earp neglecting his sick wife to chase after a woman who, it’s made to seem, represents freedom.
Doc and his partner-in-more-than-crime Kate seem to genuinely care for each other, while Earp only has eyes for the next woman on his radar screen, and his wife for her laudanum vial.
But Earp must see more blood spilled before he will earn his way to the freedom he craves. One gets the sense Wyatt would happily get on his horse with Josephine and leave all this mess behind, but the death of his brother must be avenged. Once Russell’s Earp is unleashed, he attacks his enemies mercilessly. Tombstone shows the killing as a montage of brutality, and Earp seems like a blood-crazed killer. The film eventually pauses to remind us that Earp isn’t an altogether terrible person, because he’s friends with Doc Holliday, whom he sees off to the afterlife in a touching scene made memorable by Val Kilmer’s much-heralded performance.
Why The Real Hero Of Tombstone Is Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday
Doc Comports Himself With More Honor And Dignity
Wyatt’s open affection for Doc Holliday is arguably the only aspect of his character that makes him seem like more than just a greedy, womanizing psychopath. There’s something scarily demonic about Earp’s focus on his questionable goals. Doc, on the other hand, possesses a charming devil-may-care quality, that in dark moments becomes a pall of fatalism. While Earp’s motivations seem utterly selfish, Doc is driven to join the fray by genuine affection for Wyatt, who he sees as a true friend.
Doc and his partner-in-more-than-crime Kate (Joanna Pacula) seem to genuinely care for each other, while Earp only has eyes for the next woman on his radar screen, and his wife for her laudanum vial. Doc is the faithful friend and lover who reciprocates affection, while Earp behaves like Tony Soprano.
There is nothing at all redemptive about Earp’s Tombstone arc, which begins with him seeking liberation from the burdens of his life, and ends with him winning that liberation, at a cost that makes it seem a hollow victory. Doc’s arc starts with him burnishing his bad reputation by robbing a card game (but doing so in winningly roguish style), and ends with him attaining a sense of peace, having stuck it out with his friend.
Val Kilmer’s Charismatic Performance Cements Doc Holliday As Tombstone’s True Hero
Kilmer Was Overlooked By The Oscars, But His Performance Makes Tombstone Hum
Kilmer’s Doc Holliday performance does more than just serve as a contrast to Wyatt Earp’s joylessly grim determination. The star’s raw charisma makes him the one character the audience can root for, in a movie that presents Earp as at best a complicated anti-hero, at worst a secret villain. It’s still an embarrᴀssment that the Academy did not bestow a Best Supporting Actor nomination on Kilmer.
If there were such a thing as an acting MVP award, Kilmer would win it for elevating Tombstone into something more than a gritty shoot-em-up. Over 30 years after the movie’s release, Kilmer’s performance is the thing people most remember from it. They may not remember, or have ever realized to begin with, that Doc Holliday is Tombstone’s true hero.
