Brimstone
3/4
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Emilia Jones, Carice Van Houten, Kit Harrington, William Houston, Ivy Jones, Jack Hollington
Rated R for Brutal Bloody Violence, Strong Sexual Content including Disturbing Behavior, Graphic Nudity, and Language
Not since "The Guest" has the presence of true evil slithered off the screen. While Guy Pearce's Reverend isn't the central character in the film, he is by far the most memorable (next to some strong competition). To see the Australian actor in the role of such a monstrous villain is frightening.
Liz (Fanning) is a mute woman living in the Old West. Having married a widower named Eli (Houston) and becoming a mother to his son Matthew (Hollington) and bore him a daughter Sam (Jones), she appears to have made peace with her unrevealed past. When a new pastor (Pearce) comes into town, it's welcome news to Eli. Liz, however, is uneasy. Soon enough, tragedy strikes and she and her family must go on the run. Only then is her past told.
Fair warning: this movie is not for everyone. This is a bloody and disturbing tale that will turn off or alienate a sizable amount of its potential audience. The R rating is richly deserved. That said, what "Brimstone" does, it does well. The performances are strong across the board. The plot is gripping. The film looks stunning and the musical score is beautiful. But this movie is not for the squeamish or for the conservative minded filmgoer. As for me, I like this sort of daring, filming without a safety net. Sure it could end up being crap, but when it works, it's exhilarating.
Neatly divided into four chapters, writer/director Martin Koolhoven elects to present the film in a non-chronological fashion. The first chapter sets up the film in the present, while the second and third are in the past. The fourth goes back to the present to tie everything up. While there is no denying that this style has been overused since Christopher Nolan popularized it with his landmark 2000 thriller "Memento" (which, ironically, also starred Guy Pearce) Koolhoven uses it well. Telling the story in this fashion gives the story a dramatic underpinning that it wouldn't get had he told it in a conventional way.
The performances are strong across the board. Dakota Fanning is in top form, playing a young mother fighting for survival. What's especially impressive is that for a majority of the film, she has no dialogue. Fortunately, she has a very expressive face. Emilia Jones is also excellent as the younger version of Liz; in fact, she's so good and looks so similar to Fanning that I thought they were the same person. Carice Van Houten, Kit Harrington and William Houston are all effective, and the child actors Ivy Jones and Jack Hollington show just as much skill as their more experienced co-stars.
The real star of the show is Guy Pearce. The versatile Aussie star has played some villainous characters before ("Lawless" was loaded with problems, but his performance was not one of them), but never has he played someone this depraved. A religious zealot who uses gospel as an excuse to perpetrate his most sadistic desires is bad enough, but add in the fact that he knows he is beyond redemption and cares nothing for morality as a result and you have a man who could give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money in the creepy department. But The Reverend isn't necessarily creepy in the heebie-jeebies kind of way. He's just flat out disturbing.
Unfortunately, "Brimstone" has an Achille's Heel, and that's its length. At two and a half hours, the film is far too long. So much so that it loses a lot of its dramatic momentum. Each new revelation los3es its luster the longer the film goes on without going anywhere. I won't call this self-indulgent; the film is too well made and well-acted to be labled as such. But there's no denying that this would have been a much stronger film had it been leaner and meaner. So to speak.
"Brimstone" was not easy for Koolhoven to get off the ground. Not wanting to compromise his vision with studio interference, he got financing from sources in eight different countries. Casting changes (Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson were among the original cast) caused so much disruption that the director thought he was having a heart attack (it was really just a panic attack from all the stress). While the film is not perfect by any means, it's worth seeking out for those who have a taste for movies that veer off the beaten path.
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Emilia Jones, Carice Van Houten, Kit Harrington, William Houston, Ivy Jones, Jack Hollington
Rated R for Brutal Bloody Violence, Strong Sexual Content including Disturbing Behavior, Graphic Nudity, and Language
Not since "The Guest" has the presence of true evil slithered off the screen. While Guy Pearce's Reverend isn't the central character in the film, he is by far the most memorable (next to some strong competition). To see the Australian actor in the role of such a monstrous villain is frightening.
Liz (Fanning) is a mute woman living in the Old West. Having married a widower named Eli (Houston) and becoming a mother to his son Matthew (Hollington) and bore him a daughter Sam (Jones), she appears to have made peace with her unrevealed past. When a new pastor (Pearce) comes into town, it's welcome news to Eli. Liz, however, is uneasy. Soon enough, tragedy strikes and she and her family must go on the run. Only then is her past told.
Fair warning: this movie is not for everyone. This is a bloody and disturbing tale that will turn off or alienate a sizable amount of its potential audience. The R rating is richly deserved. That said, what "Brimstone" does, it does well. The performances are strong across the board. The plot is gripping. The film looks stunning and the musical score is beautiful. But this movie is not for the squeamish or for the conservative minded filmgoer. As for me, I like this sort of daring, filming without a safety net. Sure it could end up being crap, but when it works, it's exhilarating.
Neatly divided into four chapters, writer/director Martin Koolhoven elects to present the film in a non-chronological fashion. The first chapter sets up the film in the present, while the second and third are in the past. The fourth goes back to the present to tie everything up. While there is no denying that this style has been overused since Christopher Nolan popularized it with his landmark 2000 thriller "Memento" (which, ironically, also starred Guy Pearce) Koolhoven uses it well. Telling the story in this fashion gives the story a dramatic underpinning that it wouldn't get had he told it in a conventional way.
The performances are strong across the board. Dakota Fanning is in top form, playing a young mother fighting for survival. What's especially impressive is that for a majority of the film, she has no dialogue. Fortunately, she has a very expressive face. Emilia Jones is also excellent as the younger version of Liz; in fact, she's so good and looks so similar to Fanning that I thought they were the same person. Carice Van Houten, Kit Harrington and William Houston are all effective, and the child actors Ivy Jones and Jack Hollington show just as much skill as their more experienced co-stars.
The real star of the show is Guy Pearce. The versatile Aussie star has played some villainous characters before ("Lawless" was loaded with problems, but his performance was not one of them), but never has he played someone this depraved. A religious zealot who uses gospel as an excuse to perpetrate his most sadistic desires is bad enough, but add in the fact that he knows he is beyond redemption and cares nothing for morality as a result and you have a man who could give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money in the creepy department. But The Reverend isn't necessarily creepy in the heebie-jeebies kind of way. He's just flat out disturbing.
Unfortunately, "Brimstone" has an Achille's Heel, and that's its length. At two and a half hours, the film is far too long. So much so that it loses a lot of its dramatic momentum. Each new revelation los3es its luster the longer the film goes on without going anywhere. I won't call this self-indulgent; the film is too well made and well-acted to be labled as such. But there's no denying that this would have been a much stronger film had it been leaner and meaner. So to speak.
"Brimstone" was not easy for Koolhoven to get off the ground. Not wanting to compromise his vision with studio interference, he got financing from sources in eight different countries. Casting changes (Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson were among the original cast) caused so much disruption that the director thought he was having a heart attack (it was really just a panic attack from all the stress). While the film is not perfect by any means, it's worth seeking out for those who have a taste for movies that veer off the beaten path.
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