I've referred to this as a Tarantino-esque western, but arguably this breed has its origins well before "Django Unchained" and "The Hateful 8". As an oldie, many of the slow-mo violent blood-spattering gun-battles in "The Harder They Fall" were reminiscent to me of Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" from 1969.
Positives:
Negatives:
Summary Thoughts on "The Harder They Fall": Westerns have been out of fashion for many years, but each year tends to see cinema testing the waters again with a few offerings. 2021 has now seen two good ones... with this and "News of the World". I really wasn't expecting much from this, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a movie that has some memorable moments. At nearly 140 minutes I felt it outstayed its welcome by about 20 minutes. But otherwise I'd recommend you give it a try.
(For the full graphical review, please check out #onemannsmovies online. Thanks).
Positives:
- This is certainly a revisionist Western, featuring as it does a cast composed almost exclusively of people of colour. And what a cast it is. Idris Elba (here truly imposing in the movie, a force of evil and genuinely threatening); Delroy Lindo (familiar to me from his regular role in TV's "The Good FIght"); LaKeith Stanfield (so good in "Judas and the Black Messiah"); Regina King (flipping back in front of the camera again after the brilliant "One Night in Miami") and Zazie Beets (she of "Deadpool 2" fame who here again makes a striking and memorable impression as a female lead). I wasn't familiar with Jonathan Majors' work, but he makes a strong impression here in the lead.
- As the opening title says "While the events in this story are fictional. These. People. Existed.", and having this focus on the people of colour - often ex-slaves - who seem to have been whitewashed out of most movie Westerns in the past is an eye-opener. Of course, having ALL of these black characters condensed into one plot feels very strange and unnatural. But - hey - it makes for an interesting statement.
- The cinematography (by Mihai Malaimare Jr.) is impressive, with many tight shots of people (and horses!) from strange angles. There's a spectacular zoom, from Buck out of a saloon window all the way up the dusty street to where Love is sitting on a horse, that feels like showing off! But it's memorable nevertheless!
- A quirky score (selected by director Jeymes Samuel) and amusing graphics ("A White Town" - LOL) were entertaining, but again felt like they were aping Tarantino. Not necessarily a bad thing!
- There's a great twist in the tale that I didn't see coming.
Negatives:
- The action sequences have a surfeit of "stormtrooper syndrome": all of the 'good guys' have perfect aim, yet the 'bad guys' pepper the street with lead and seldom hit anyone. There are also times when a lot of speechifying goes on when you just think they should be reacting to that old Scott Evil prompt of "JUST SHOOT HIM!".
- A number of the actors muttered their lines, which often suited the mood. But what with that and the sound balance sometimes being a bit off, I was sometimes struggling to understand the dialogue.
- The callousness and violence of the piece I found to be a bit numbing overall. It's a great western, but I can't say I found it uplifting and speed to rewatch it.
Summary Thoughts on "The Harder They Fall": Westerns have been out of fashion for many years, but each year tends to see cinema testing the waters again with a few offerings. 2021 has now seen two good ones... with this and "News of the World". I really wasn't expecting much from this, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a movie that has some memorable moments. At nearly 140 minutes I felt it outstayed its welcome by about 20 minutes. But otherwise I'd recommend you give it a try.
(For the full graphical review, please check out #onemannsmovies online. Thanks).