The Harder They Fall. 2021

A revisionist western of sorts, influenced by Leone, Peckinpah but also Tarantino and his recent films of imagining what if this really happened instead of what really happened. There were of course African Americans back in the Wild West days and a few films have given us glimpses of them most recently in “Godless” and a few years back “Unforgiven”. Now in “The Harder They Fall”, African Americans take center stage, there are no “major” white actors and those seen are very few and peripheral to the thrust of the movie. They are more or less walk on parts. The shoe as the saying goes is on the other foot. The major characters are named after actual people who lived in the West during the time period depicted, but that’s where the reality ends and fantasy takes over. 

The main thrust of the film is a story of revenge, which is a theme in movies and indeed westerns for as long as celluloid has flown through projectors. It is also a rousing gun show of two rival black gangs who roam the west robbing banks and shooting it out between themselves. One gang is getting their leader back after a daring and clever break out on a train guarded by men of the U.S. Calvery and its here that the great Idris Elba makes his dramatic entrance. Also on hand are two tough women bandits one played by the wonderful Regina King as Trudy who gives a nasty over the hill scenery chewing performance, and the owner of a rival saloon and sometime performer Stagecoach Mary played by Zazie Beetz who reminded me of a young Hallie Berry. The members of both gangs include a wide range of types and bad hombres and women including Jonathan Majors, Devon Cole, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler and Delroy Lindo as a fierce sheriff all of whom give terrific rowdy performances.

Directed by Jeymes Samuel who also co-wrote the screenplay and did the score. Samuel directed it with verve and vividness and with some great set pieces that I think will be talked about and remembered down the road. One of my favorite scenes is when they ride into a white town to rob the bank and in an eye opening jaw dropping scene we see that this town is indeed all white including the mud and dust in the streets and all the buildings. Some might have some problem with a vicious knock down brawl between 2 women which is usually referred to as a cat fight, but then again there are many vicious scenes in this over 2 hour donnybrook of a movie. The music score is an imaginative blend and mix of many different styles from Nina Simone to hip hop and Reggae and the wide screen panoramas of the west are also impressive and vivid. The many extreme gunfights and killings are outlandish and cartoon like in their depictions.   If not seen in the theatre then a nice big screen TV is a must. The outcome of the movie, the revenge thing is a little bit of a let down, and there is a clue that maybe a sequel is in the works. Also the long running time might be daunting for some, still this is one of the best films I’ve seen this year in my meager viewings of new films. Definitely not for everyone especially those who have an aversion to graphic violence.