A realist or revisionist western but then "The Missouri Breaks" is an Arthur Penn movie so you know it was never going to be traditional; you just have to look at the cast. Jack Nicholson is the leader of a gang of outlaws but he's a hippie outlaw more in keeping with the 1970's, when the film was made, than the 1870's and with a gang that includes Randy Quaid, Frederic Forrest and Harry Dean Stanton you know exactly where you're meant to be. John McLiam is the rancher so tired of being robbed he brings in a 'regulator', (a totally over-the-top Marlon Brando in one of his funny voice modes and even dressing up in drag at one point), to put an end to the rustling and to operate with, what became known as, 'extreme prejudice'.
As written by Thomas McGuane it's like a parody of or an antidote to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". It has the same post-modern outlook on the old West but with a much more cynical streak as the gang decide to go straight but aren't allowed to. It's very funny in a way you don't expect Penn to be but it wasn't a success. I'm not sure audiences knew what to make of it but it's as close to a cult movie, ("Bonnie and Clyde" notwithstanding). that Penn ever made. There's also an excellent performance from newcomer Kathleen Lloyd as McLiam's free-thinking daughter who falls for Nicholson. It's a lovely piece of acting but for some reason her career never really went very far afterwards.
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