Interesting film

I had never even heard of this film before a few nights ago, but I ran across it on IFC and decided to give it a look. I was surprised to see that it not only stars Clint but that it also is one of his directorial efforts.

It's a different movie than I expected from the synopsis -- quieter, with more humor, more thoughtful, and with a certain ethereal quality.

Clint Eastwood plays a preacher, which is quite odd. This is certainly something different for Clint, though if he's going to play a minister, I wish the religious elements were just a little more overt and he leaned more into the character.

I saw someone mention that Clint said in an interview years later that the Preacher is in fact a ghost. If that's accurate, it's an interesting thought. There definitely does seem to be an oddness with his character, such as the timing of his appearance in the town and his ability to seemingly disappear and reappear elsewhere.

Overall, it's an interesting work. I watched it more or less back-to-back with Hang 'Em High. You could say that Hang 'Em High is the more fun film, but Pale Rider is certainly more interesting and thought-provoking.