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Seraphim
Falls
(2006)
As if part of a strange sort of self-fulfilling prophesy, the same western films which romanticized the decline of cowboy culture have virtually disappeared themselves. In the last decade, the number of truly quality oaters to come from Hollywood or any other moviemaking machine could be counted on one hand. Then, quietly and briefly, Seraphim Falls made its way into theaters, and for a moment restored all the classic elements of the best western epics to the screen. It's this fidelity to genre conventions, in both aesthetics and essence, that makes Seraphim Falls so brilliant.
The plot of Seraphim Falls is beautifully simple, reminiscent of masterpieces like Shane and High Noon. It's a classic story of revenge and survival, as trapper and ex-Union commander Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) leads his pursuer Carver (Liam Neeson) and his posse across the expanses of the untamed West. Seeking revenge for the death of his wife and children at the end of the Civil War, Carver will rest at nothing until Gideon dies at his hands. In a series of vignette-like scenes in various locations and with a vast array of supporting characters, the men make their way into the desert for their final, fateful confrontation.
Just as the film captures the rugged simplicity of the great classic Westerns before it, it also captures the best of their aesthetic elements. The cinematography by Oscar-winner John Toll (Braveheart, The Thin Red Line) is absolutely breathtaking and captures the vastness of the environment and the men's isolation from everyone but each other perfectly. The panaramic landscapes bring to mind the archetypal images from the best of John Ford's Monument Valley films, though the evens of Seraphim Falls take place mostly in Nevada. Similarly, the epic score by composer Harry Gregson-Williams (Kingdom of Heaven, Shrek the Third) is simultaneously suspenseful and deeply emotional, which makes for some powerful confrontations and introspection. Also, Oscar-winning editor Conrad Buff (Titanic, Shooter) avoids the modern trend to over-cut to highten action, and remains true to the steadfastness of the genre, which is a welcome change to recent western entries.
As much as all these elements are top-notch, the film as a whole can't quite live up to more than the sum of its parts. It is heightened by powerful performances by both Brosnan and Neeson, who personify the true power of revenge and redemption. Cameos by Xander Berkeley and Native American staple Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans) give splashes of character to genre conventions, and are welcome additions to the limited cast. Likewise, Angelica Huston lives up to her name as a hallucinatory Godsend before the men's final duel. But none of these performances pulls the film together in such a way that it will ever be as classic as the films to which it pays homage and draws inspiration.
And though it is in virtually every way a product of a bygone era, Seraphim Falls still contains evidence of its modern heritage. For example, the level of gore in the film is matched in the genre only by the works of Sam Peckinpah, and exceeds them in many ways simply due to advances in special effect makeup in the last four decades. The lengthy, near silent opening manhunt sequence is an interesting and captivating start to the film, but bears little resemblance to the style of filmmaking exhibited throughout the rest of the movie. Fortunately, the modern touches in the film all add to the overall experience and make the movie more enjoyable, though not perhaps as much of a throwback to the classics of the 40's and 50's as I might have liked.
If you are like me, and whistfully yearn for a return to the innocent and epic action-packed Westerns of the mid-Twentieth Century, Seraphim Falls may be the closest you will get in this millenium. As we press further and faster onward, and embrace newer, fancier visual and stylistic approaches to filmmaking, the antiquated and simple West will only become more cherished for its fans, and this film is the perfect reminder of things lost. It's a shame it wasn't released wider, or seen by a broader audience, but the fact that it wasn't speaks volumes about our current blockbuster culture, and the direction of cinema in general. Perhaps it's the modern Hollywood filmmaker who deserves to be hunted through the wilderness for the dear Western genre for whose death they were responsible.
-Mark
Moreland
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2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
David
Von Ancken
Writer: David Von Ancken & Abby Everett Jaques
Starring: Liam
Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Wincott, Ed Lauter, John Robinson,
Robert Baker, Anjelica Huston, Angie Harmon, Xander Berkeley, Wes
Studi
Distributor: Samuel
Goldwyn Films
Runtime: 115
min
Rating: R
Release Date: January
26, 2007
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