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Rating: The western has gone from being a staple genre of cinematic culture to something intangible, too "old-fashioned" to compete with the mega-productions that are all the rage today, especially those related to 3D. According to this strange view of today's cinematic culture, extraordinary films like John Hillcoat's "The Proposition" or Kevin Costner's "Open Range" have almost gone unnoticed, especially the former. I have mentioned two relatively recent films because this genre, particularly in recent years, has undergone an incredible decline, especially in terms of quantity. Many producers do not see the "profitability" in funding or proposing a genre that has prejudicially been cast aside. Therefore, "Seraphim Falls" (original title "Seraphim Falls") is even more of a good modern example of the "frontier genre".
In David Von Ancken's film, we are not facing yet another dispute between Americans and natives, but we return to one of the most famous themes of the genre itself: revenge. The battle is between two characters: Gideon (Pierce Brosnan), a former captain of the American army who, without knowing it, kills the entire family of the rebel Carver (Liam Neeson). The inevitable narrative twist is the pursuit that Carver undertakes against his enemy.
Von Ancken manages with a good dose of naturalness to create a genuine film, visually cold in the first very long sequence in the forest (where we will immediately find ourselves dealing with sequences full of "action") and the second part of the film, which will focus instead on much warmer locations, eventually reaching the desert. A story that manages to effectively mix violence (not for its own sake) of some scenes, but at the same time, knows how to balance the more dramatic moments, which fit wonderfully into a film with a "classic" progression. In fact, from the theme of revenge and then the chase through desolate lands, the desire for classicism resurfaces that not the film, but the genre itself carries along. We are not facing the chromatic and refined elegance of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," nor are we touching on metaphysical/existential shores as in "Dead Man." "Seraphim Falls" is a more "thoughtful" film, channeled onto very specific tracks, where the narrative core is represented by the Brosnan/Neeson duo.
Nevertheless, this does not negate the negative aspects of Von Ancken's work: for many, in fact, the choice to start immediately with "too much movement" has conditioned the film's progression, forcing it to remain consistently at high adrenaline levels due to an overly launched incipit. But what could mostly be objected to the film is the "non-specific" characterization of some characters, particularly two. One is represented by the strange "keeper of the spring," and the other is the peddler played by Anjelica Huston, who will only appear in the final minutes, right when everyone expects the decisive showdown. Indeed, as a good western, "Seraphim Falls" ends with the final conflict between the two "contenders." Perhaps the viewer might be disappointed by an ending that was already understood but which, combined with the pacifist message it carries and a splendid final flashback that is emotionally compelling, makes what should have been an anonymous western a little gem for genre enthusiasts.
Rating 3 and a half.
"No one can protect anyone in this world."
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