Western should get an Oscars nod
The Harder They Fall (R16, 137 mins) Directed by Jeymes Samuel Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★★
Forget The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, this is the western Quentin Tarantino wishes he made. A potent blend of the best of him, this eye-popping, energetic and exciting tale from Robert Rodriguez and Baz Luhrmann and writer-director Jeymes Samuel (who worked as the executive musical consultant on Luhrmann’s hip-hop infused Great Gatsby adaptation) is a revenge thriller, heist movie and traditional oater, all rolled into an explosive package.
Everything the Denzel Washington-led The Magnificent Seven adaptation promised (some of the sets even look the same), but was not, this is funny, philosophical, visceral, complicated, bravura and, quite simply, bloody brilliant.
At its palpitating heart, The Harder They Fall is the story of Nat Love (Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors). For years, he has been driven by a single, life-changing incident in his childhood, when a family dinner was interrupted by a whinny and a knock at the door.
A bloke with golden guns and two colleagues enters the room, expectorates and makes himself at home. As his associates point their pistols at the boy and his mother, Nat’s father tries to persuade the main man to take their beef outside. ‘‘Your quarrel is with me,’’ he calmly suggests.
However, such pleas go unheeded, both Nat’s parents are slain, and he has a cross carved into his forehead. Years later and Nat’s revenge is almost complete after luring the second of the accomplices to his doom.
When he informs a witness that they could take the body in to claim a $5000 bounty, they ask why he doesn’t do it himself. ‘‘Because I’m worth $10,000.’’
Drinking away the events of the day at the local saloon, Nat feels his job may be done, but old friend ‘‘Stagecoach’’ Mary (Deadpool 2’s Zazie Beetz) knows that certainly isn’t the case. ‘‘As long as that man draws breath, you’re going to be as wild as ever,’’ she says.
It’s an observation he knows is correct, especially with the news that Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) has inexplicably just been absolved of his ‘‘countless degradations’’ and liberated from his incarceration by his gang of extremely violent individuals.
From the costuming (virtually every character sports a distinctive black hat) to the dubstep, reggae and Jay-Z-infused soundtrack and some truly spectacular set-pieces (a game of chicken with a train, a bank robbery), there’s a swagger and seductive style that exudes from every frame.
Samuel, whose only previous feature was the little seen Rosario Dawson-led 2013 western They Die By Dawn, has an impressive bag of cinematic tricks, and he unleashes them all here, using reflections, shadows, sumptuous framing and variable film speeds to killer effect. There’s even a crash zoom that won’t easily be forgotten.
Likewise, while his and cowriter Boaz Yakin’s (Remember the Titans, From Dusk Till Dawn 2 )is Shakespearean in scope, the delights are in the pithy, witty and acerbic dialogue.
When townspeople complain that they don’t have enough money for a new ‘‘tax’’ and noncompliance is threatened with extreme violence, Regina King’s scene-stealing ‘‘Treacherous’’ Trudy observes: ‘‘How long have you lived in America? A ‘rock and a hard place’? – that’s what we call Monday.’’
She is part of a tremendous ensemble that also includes Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah) and RJ Cyler (Me, Earl and the Dying Girl).
As the opening title card informs us, while the events depicted may be fictional, These. People. Existed. Nat Love was a real cowboy who wrote a 1907 autobiography titled The Life and Adventures of Nat Love: A True History of Slavery Days.
After seeing this, you won’t easily forget his, or Samuel’s name. The 2022 Oscars race starts here.
The Harder They Fall is now screening in select cinemas and will debut on Netflix on November 3.