The early part of the film is so well filmed, you can feel what it is like on the range, enjoying a campfire, feeling a drenching rain, repairing a wagon bogged down in the mud. The music and cinematography is superb. Cowboys try to avoid violence but they run into a frontier town that rules through fear and tyranny that changes their lives and force them into action. The cattle lords frown upon free range grazing. Amidst this turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for loner Charley (Costner) when he meets Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), a woman who captures both his heart and soul. Conflict develops with an evil, ruthless rancher (Michael Gambon) who controls the town of Harmonville, making the laws and rules of injustice, and enforcing them with brute force. The four men feel compelled to step up and confront to fight this injustice. The action that follows is unpredictable and unique. You simply have to see one of the greatest westerns ever made.