Seraphim Falls... a different type of Western, but didn't work for me...

Serephim Falls is a non-traditional Western featuring Liam Neeson and Peirce Brosnan in a tale of revenge. The action starts with a chase scene with Carver (Neeson) and a pack of hired guns chasing Gideon (Brosnan). You are given no real indication about why one is chasing the other, which one is the good guy or bad guy, or even if one is good and one bad. In fact the whole film relies heavily on this uncertainty to build up an air of mystery and suspense. We are given clues along the way – small flashbacks and indications in the actions and reactions of the two men – but it isn't until the film is nearly finished that the mystery is revealed.

The whole enjoyment factor of this movie for every individual viewer will be how effectively they are drawn into the plot and intrigued by the mystery. The two main characters are pretty complex, with lots of shades of grey, no classic battle of good and evil here. For me the puzzle about the identities and their history wasn't enough to make me feel involved and when the explanation finally did come, I found it rather disappointing. From the point of view of showing us where the grudge between Carver and Gideon came from it did a good job, but the scene explaining it left so many questions unanswered that I couldn't help but feel rather let down by its handling. Similarly the ending is quite intriguing from the point of view of it not being what you expect, but it left me with a massive feeling of anticlimax.

Thought the two main characters are interesting if not involving, the other characters in the film are really only there to make up the numbers, be killed in a grisly way, or make some particular point about the attitude of the main characters. It becomes quite metaphysical near the end and I can imagine some people being a bit confused as to whether some of the characters are actually supposed to be real or not. It's interesting, but I didn't find it much more than that.

Another problem I had with the film is the two main actors. I have seen reviews on another site showering them with acting plaudits, and I guess really the acting itself was good. However Brosnan's voice is far too distinctive to sound like it really belongs in the place where the movie was set (in the American wilderness shortly after the Civil War has ended). Both he and Neeson put on husky voices to try to sound more authentic – Neeson's works better, but also makes him very difficult to understand at times! At first Neeson seemed to be acting as though he was mildly sedated, though I guess the reason for his general malaise is explained later in the film.

There were one or two good sequences but overall the pace of the film is slow and I often found it quite boring. Again, this comes down to the fact that I never felt any connection with the characters – if you find the plot itself sufficient to pull you in, then you'll enjoy it much more than I did. If you like films to have characters that you can connect with in some way (even if it's only to despise them!), then you'll probably be disappointed with Seraphim Falls. Also be warned if you're squeamish, some bits are quite gory.

Overall, Seraphim Falls tries hard to be different and manages it, also managing to get a morality tale about the futility of revenge in. It also has some very good photography (John Toll) and a decent music score (Harry Gregson-Williams). However at the end of the day it just didn't involve me at all, so I can't say that I enjoyed it. I guess it's a character study after a fashion, just not featuring any characters you can particualrly care about – at least not for 85% of the film. You might like it if you like Westerns (I'm not a fan myself) that are a bit different – don't expect this to be like any John Wayne film you've ever seen!!

Other Information

Director: David Von Ancken (who as far as I can see has mainly done periodic TV work)
MPAA rating: R for violence and brief language (UK rating 15)
Runtime:


For an excellent review of Seraphim Falls by someone who enjoyed it a whole lot more than I did, try Phungus' Review.


Related Links

I think the only other Pierce Brosnan film I've reviewed on Epinions is Laws of Attraction

Oh yeah... and the BBC mini-series version of Around the World in Eighty Days.