While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
略失望。背景音乐造型都到位，纯正70年代风，还请了好几个明星客串，可故事咋就讲得这么平铺直叙没高潮呢，最后小妹咋就和小胖子花好月圆呢，因为导演代入了自己？拍电影不是再现自己经历过的一切，而是进行艺术的创作啊导演同志
恭喜PTA又搞出了一部调度/运动镜头教科书，无论是开场还是摩托车都非常精彩，倒车戏更是看得我下巴都掉下来了。但我真的想不起来上一次看一个以怀旧为主题的电影，却感到全然被拒绝，全然被排除在外是什么时候的事情了…整部电影充斥着散漫和虚无，我想也许越是喜欢PTA，就越会为它感到惋惜，越喜欢木兰花、不羁夜甚至性本恶，就越会不喜欢这部电影吧。 /with 小狗
真的又长又无聊，那种70年代的酷劲都被说烂了，还一直在拍，没啥新意，不过年代还原感还行。
若是单拿感情线的走向来看，PTA像是拿了滨口龙介的剧本，吵吵闹闹分分合合，但在复古质感的音乐和镜头质感之下，则更像是一幅回忆中的美国风情画，随处可见的商机、特定年代下的石油危机、政客对于自身形象的维护以及色情元素在报纸上的泛滥，想说的东西很多，格局也算是有了；在运镜方面PTA用了他在很多mv作品惯用的跟随式长镜头，往复式的对白也是他作品中的标志，但在这个片里似乎缺少了点神经元素，没有不羁夜或者私恋失调那么嗨；若是拿同类导演题材做对比的话，则让我想起了科长的站台，都是一个对属于自己成长中的过去时代的一次致敬，但他们自身并不是属于那个年代的主人公。
导演拍过女主的乐队的mv，女主的妈妈就是导演小学艺术课的老师，故事的灵感来自于那会儿导演对这个老师的crush... 神奇
连看两天中年白男对童年/少年的糖水回忆我好累
失望，故事太糟糕了。15岁自我且幼稚的男孩只有在女孩被人“夺走”的时刻展现出了动物般的“占有欲”，28岁陷入“boyfriend crisis”的女孩尝试外寻无果后只能将就这个stick around的傻逼。在被性侵，开车脱险后坐马路边心有余悸的时刻，女孩的不安和委屈是不被宣泄和分享的。一个只有表面的故事。看完phantom thread我以为pta懂得爱情，现在只能承认他够变态@DGATheater
PTA的爱情狂奔。我的温冯道格玛年下爱大代餐。✨
凭PTA找一个比女主看着还老的男的演一个比她小十岁的处男，就忍不住想加分。和浪漫情愫、智识差异、性别矛盾均无关，不过像磁铁一样，在转念之间折返于吸引与互斥。一些怪鸡人物像巨大的泡沫漂浮于空中，与彼时躁动的年代共振，只为了迎接某一刻嘉年华般的相遇。招牌调度不再令人惊叹，如旋转木马般产生慢性晕眩，多么烂漫而谦卑的姿态。
丑男丑女也就算了，年龄差距也不是啥新鲜事儿，这种故事有什么可以拿出来演绎的，都是各种无聊的破事儿，所谓的创业就像儿戏。比《吸大麻的孩子》差出十条街。也就61岁的西恩·潘那场戏值得一看，库珀出来几分钟演了个啥。奥斯卡越来越三流。4
他们在互相折磨什么，他们在等待什么，他们在跑什么。🤔
就如卡车以倒车的方式下坡 不用依靠石油提供动力 《甘草披萨》也可以称为重力电影 所有时间和冲突都回到私人情感的纬度 而这又无不是时代的情绪 西恩潘或是库博的角色都好有趣 “你喜欢吃花生酱三明治吗？”
不比PTA之前作品剧作上的丰富性，本片 “简陋”情节完全弱于以往故事的曲折跌宕，而与同样简单的《私恋失调》相比，形式也完全居于之下，仅以斯坦尼康长镜耀人，拍三人围坐也使用更隐形的镜像固定镜头，相比《不羁夜》里环绕减弱了不少技术性。这个减法却与故事本身相反，年龄差距与身份设置明显可以展出更曲折故事走向，但PTA却偏偏反其道而行，故事也轻松平常，最引人激烈的警局一场戏是虚惊一场，倒车悬疑性拉满中也不见什么意味，这种种的反差其实都在PTA对准了爱情故事里本身的不轰轰烈烈，或者说多数不，即便你童星如何、爱上年龄差的人又如何，具体过程即便有变，也与平常人相同，只要你保留向对方的方向即可，所以结尾出的双向奔赴剪进来的以往内容其本身并无大事，当众宣布也无人关注，但只要两人知道就好，这才是青春片的适普性。
你永远可以相信PTA。在好莱坞想法设法披上多元化外衣的今天，PTA直截了当的白男电影反而成了一股清流——反正男主是我御用主演的儿子，女主一家是我朋友，故事是我私人情感，点映的电影院都是我自己挑的，爱谁谁。亚裔段子确实又low又无必要，但批评PTA纯男性视角就有点过分了。这就是一部正统的coming of age电影，最动人之处就是男主（一个老练的孩子）和女主（其实也是个半大孩子）如何一次次假扮大人，又一次次被虚伪的成人世界弹回，在这过程中意识到了彼此陪伴的重要性。说女主明明可以找更优秀的人的评论也是把我气笑了，片子的point就在于用短短两个片段揭露了所谓更优秀的成功男性——比如老导演和市长候选人——华丽外袍下照样一身虱子。且不说优秀这一说法多么烂俗，真正优秀的人也不用靠找优秀的伴侣来证明。
戏外drama回潮 每逢看到CooperHoffman那张似曾相识的脸就很感伤...
充满racism sexism male gazed 的青春片 真的无聊af
American Graffiti or younger Punch-Drunk Love.PTA一如既往著迷那種不對稱性／錯位的兩人組人物關係。親密的流動的卻又互相折磨的情感糾纏。以『監護』為核心構建的角力。把握住了年輕人的微妙情感，不僅是70's世代，也是當代的。攝影機的運動真美妙！喜歡兩個人躺在水床上的那場戲的克制，「愛是想要觸碰卻又收回的手」
竟然拍出了公路片的感觉（大概是“奔跑”太多了）。嗯，觉得PTA应该试着拍一下《拍卖第四十九批》。
大师作品在细节和调性上总能出类拔萃，可惜这个于我有代沟和国沟，实在无法从70年代的美国年代梗获得任何感觉，最重要的应该是我真不喜欢这个女主~~~这个长相时而发嗲时而发神经而相当自以为是，就略讨厌。
太真了太接地气了真他妈甜，活该我今天看这片，活该我，我活该！！！
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