Women had few choices in the male-dominated world of the 19th century U.S., both in the "civilized" East and the rough West: the respectable option was to be a wife and mother, and the disreputable option was to be a whore. At the beginning of The Ballad of Little Jo, we find Josephine Monaghan (Suzy Amis) trapped between these two extremes. Fiercely independent and resourceful, Josephine finds a possible way out of her agonizing lack of choices: to become, in the eyes of the world, a young man named "Jo" instead of a young woman named Josephine.

The Ballad of Little Jo is really only a Western in the sense that it's set in the Old West, when mining camps were full of eager prospectors and the hills were filling with homesteaders looking for a new life. Director Maggie Greenwald neatly sidesteps all the of the tired conventions of the "Western" and lets The Ballad of Little Jo focus on its own tightly character-centered story. The Western setting is not coincidental, though: the time, place, and culture of the setting is fundamental to the story.

Suzy Amis does a truly admirable job as Little Jo, bringing the character to life in three richly realized dimensions. It's a tough role, since Jo is not given to talking much, but Amis manages to express the character as much in silence as in dialogue. Amis strikes a perfect balance in her performance as a man: on the one hand, she's entirely believable in her male disguise, and on the other hand, we as the audience can see the signs of strain at times, as she feels the pressure of maintaining her cover. To its credit, the film never plays up this aspect of the film for laughs (this is a deadly serious story), and it never trivializes it. We fully understand Jo's motive in taking up her disguise, and it's handled in a highly realistic manner.

Incidentally, there's no need for suspension of disbelief when it comes to accepting that Jo could pass as a man: in addition to her changed appearance (which is remarkably convincing even to a modern viewer), one thing that would have played in her favor was ironically the same thing that made it necessary for her to disguise herself as a man. In a culture that had strict male/female dress codes as well as very clear expectations of men's and women's work, people would have been much more likely to accept at face value the "male signals" of clothing and behavior.

The Ballad of Little Jo has to get full credit for an original and unpredictable storyline; it develops naturally and always has some dramatic tension pulling the viewer in to find out what happens next, but at the same time, it neatly avoids any clichéd plot twists. I kept expecting the plot to develop in a certain way (the question in my mind being not so much "will it happen" but "how will it happen"), and in the end I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story had taken an entirely different direction than what I was expecting.

That's not to say that the plot is perfect, of course. A few elements of the story seemed a little rushed, like Jo's relationship with the Chinese railroad worker "Tin Man" (David Chung), or even the appearance of the Western Cattle Company in the last third or so of the film. It's rare that I find a film to be overly short (the more usual sin is a bloated running time), but The Ballad of Little Jo is one that might have benefited from a slightly longer cut than its current 121 minutes.

Since this isn't the conventional Western story of gunfighters, sheriffs, and Indian raids, The Ballad of Little Jo offers an interesting perspective on the "wild West" of the time. It's certainly a rough and often brutal place, and the film pulls no punches in that respect, but we see in the film that it's also a place with its own kind of magic, where people could really re-invent themselves and find a new life. The Ballad of Little Jo does a nice job of showing the evolution of Jo herself as she looks for a measure of peace and security in this "no man's land" at the fringes of the civilized world; it's a character-based film that works well due to the excellent and very believable performance from Amis coupled with an interesting and well-developed setting and a solid story structure that keeps the story moving all the time.

The DVD

Video

The Ballad of Little Jo is presented in a very nice widescreen anamorphic transfer, at the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1; apart from some moderate edge enhancement, it's a clean and attractive image. Colors in particular look very good, with a natural, bright look to both the dramatic landscapes and the indoor scenes.

Audio

Viewers have the option of a DTS 5.1, a Dolby 5.1, or a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. The DTS is certainly the best, with the fullest and richest sound; the 5.1 offers less depth and a bit less of a surround experience, but it's still very good; the 2.0 is fairly flat and should only be chosen as a last resort. The music portions of the track are always handled very well, sounding clear and crisp; surround effects are also used to very good effect at various points through the film. Dialogue, however, tends to be a bit on the flat side and occasionally even becomes muffled, so that I missed a line every now and then. Overall, though, the DTS (and to a lesser extent the 5.1) track offers a nicely immersive and satisfactory listening experience.

English subtitles are available.

Extras

A trailer for the film is included. The disc also contains DVD-ROM features, which is never something that I consider to be particularly worthwhile.

Final thoughts

The Ballad of Little Jo was a very pleasant surprise. This unpretentious, character-centered film shines through the outstanding performance of Suzy Amis in the title role, offering a solidly entertaining viewing experience. Since The Ballad of Little Jo has been given a good transfer onto DVD, it's an excellent choice for a purchase. Recommended.