THE HARDER THEY FALL
THE HARDER THEY FALL I Jeymes Samuel spotlights the forgotten faces of the American West…
The explosive western with a cast as big as they come.
It’s out with the Old West and in with the New West. Director Jeymes Samuel wanted to present a fresh take on the Stetsons and gunslingers genre in The Harder They Fall, his debut feature. “I love westerns so much but the depiction of people of colour and women is thoroughly uneven and unrealistic,” he says. “I wanted to bring balance.” Don’t expect any damsels in distress here.
The British filmmaker and singer/ songwriter, who is also known as The Bullitts, has assembled a killer cast to tell the story of real-life Black outlaw cowboy Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who goes on the hunt for revenge after discovering that his mortal enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) has been sprung from jail. Reuniting his old gang featuring ex-girlfriend Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), Jim Beck wourth (RJ Cyler) and Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), Love must face off against Buck’s own motley crew led by ‘Treacherous’ Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield).
“It’s about one man’s quest to find the killer of his parents,” explains Samuel, “and in doing so find himself. Love as a character is a symbol of hope. You can rip everything someone loves away but they can still persevere and pass through the other side of that tunnel, no matter how long it takes. He’s also a symbol of swag. He’s a
G! He reminds me of Sean Connery in Dr. No. He has a coolness and a calmness about him that is relatable.”
Samuel, who binged on westerns growing up, wrote the script with Boaz Yakin while rapper Jay-Z came
on board as co-producer. The director describes the Netflix film as “an action-adventure thriller”, one that captures the humour and attitude of life on the streets - even if those streets are dusty ones trampled by horses in the 19th century.
His influences were diverse and wide-ranging. Hat tips to western greats John Ford and John Huston might not come as a big surprise but he also points out how the film honours Spike Lee in a scene shown in the trailer. “When Regina King stops the horses and she raises her hand, that’s me paying homage to Malcolm X,” he says.
“In The Harder They Fall, you can see all the filmmakers I like in there. Some people have made reference to [Quentin] Tarantino but there’s this shot in the movie that I get from Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries. [Other influences range from] Billy Wilder with pacing and humour to Hitchcock with his nuances and dealing with split screen and suspense.”
The film plays fast and loose with history as part of its maverick energy. While many of the characters are based on actual cowboys that stormed the Wild West, The Harder They Fall takes creative licence with hard facts and chronology. The real Buck, for instance, was hung to death when he was 18.
“Idris is a man of many talents, but he’s not 18,” Samuel laughs. “It’s not a biopic. That gives you more freedom to do what you like storywise and just have fun with it. Some of these people have never been depicted before on screen so to assemble them like superheroes and supervillains, and put them in one place at one time is a joy.”
Samuel teamed up with close friend and collaborator Jay-Z to create the original music for the film. The pair go way back, and worked together on the soundtrack for 2013’s The Great Gatsby. The rap superstar was hands-on in his role as co-producer, the director reveals, helping to guide the story from its inception.
“Jay wasn’t just involved musically, he’s been involved from before
I wrote the script. He helped me in the notes stage. He’s a student of cinema himself, that’s why his music is so cinematic. He’s been involved in every aspect and he’s been awesome. I composed the entire score and produced the soundtrack. We collaborated on what artists we’re bringing in and what songs Jay’s on.”
The Harder They Fall was one of many films thrown into disarray by the Covid-19 pandemic. Production was halted just before filming was due to begin in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Once it got off the ground, there were more delays after a member of the production tested positive for the virus. “Shooting was gruelling,” Samuel admits. “You can’t stand within six feet of each other. You have to wear goggles, face masks and shields. But I still had a blast. I loved every single second.”
Samuel is hoping that the film will draw attention to the forgotten stories of Black cowboys, who have been sidelined for so long. “These characters actually existed. The Old West wasn’t so narrow as [it] has been presented. People of colour had lives and personalities. They were a huge contribution to building America. Just because you show people of colour and women in a period piece, [it] doesn’t mean we were slaves or subservient. We can carry stories.”
It might not be the last we see of Love and his gang. Hinting at the possibility of a sequel, Samuel is perhaps not quite ready to let these characters ride off into the sunset just yet. “I never thought of The Harder They Fall as one film,” he teases enigmatically. “I’ll always be working on a western in some shape or form, so you can read between the lines…” AL
‘SHOOTING WAS GRUELLING. YOU CAN’T STAND WITHIN SIX FEET OF EACH OTHER’ JEYMES SAMUEL
ETA | 3 NOVEMBER / THE HARDER THEY FALL COMES OUT ON NETFLIX IN TWO MONTHS. IT PREMIERES AT THE LONDON FILM FESTIVAL ON 6 OCTOBER AND COMES OUT IN SELECT CINEMAS ON 22 OCTOBER.