Open Range is a classic Western set in Montana. The underlying plot revolves around the range wars of the late 1800s. These wars were a conflict between cattlemen who believed in free access to water and grass for everyone, and land barons who used barbed wire to fence off their empires, while denying access to the free-range cattlemen who were moving their herds. Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) is a free-range cattleman and Charley Waite (Kevin Costner) is his younger partner. Waite is a former Civil War soldier and gunslinger. The story involves the confrontation between Spearman and greedy land baron Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon) and corrupt Sheriff Poole for control of Spearmans herd and his right to live the life he has always known.