Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE HARDER THEY FALL [Denver Film Festival 2021]
The aspect of a neo-genre black western has always been a cool idea but it is about making it authentic. Tarantino's approach in a way with "Django Unchained" was a different metaphor and fueled by a different angle. "The Harder They Fall" is a straight-up direct black western. No BS. No explanation. No whites for the most part. Just outlaws, both those with and without heart, vying for power. Produced by Jay Z and James Lassiter, Will Smith's producing partner/manager and written by 3:10 to Yuma's Boaz Yakin, the story is direct, moves, and is replete with great dialogue that feels both creative, modern and yet oddly authentic. In the aftermath of the "Rust" tragedy, it is interesting to see so much up close gunplay but that is what this story is about. The elements all work together though buoyed by a killer original soundtrack that again feels just right with a mixture of cool young stars with some elders thrown in.
The story is in many ways mythical but also has a bit of formula so it feels familiar. It has romance, family dysfunction, a little bit of comedy, a little bit of gallows humor and a lot of tragedy. Jonathan Majors, who burst on the scene with "Lovecraft Country" and then snuck in with his elements in "Loki", plays the lead Nat Love with a charm and vulnerability and yet an open wound that pushes him. He has the cool while also seeming effortless in a scene which is a hard balance to maintain. Idris Elba as Rufus Buck has to do the reverse and, while the comeuppance seems sounds, it does have a bit of formula to it but that is both an homage and a point of relevance. Zazie Beetz plays Stagecoach Mary with a sense of knowing that both supports her man but also reflects her independence and gives him a bit of crap while being her own woman.
It reflects very interestingly in Regina King's Trudy who is hard core. One scene inside a jail just ups the game. King is playing to the genre construct and the essence of a psychopath but the monologue she has simply brings it home. Having Delroy Lindo as the Marshall gives a sense of Old School without going Danny Glover per se. He has a gravitas but doesn't overwhelm the scenes. LaKeith Stanfield gives Cherokee Bill a coolness that is much different from Elba or Majors and it gives him a class all his own while the other stand out is RJ Cycler as Jim Beckworth who has some of the best lines hands down. The bullets fly and no one is left unscathed. The film looks like it was shot possibly in New Mexico and has its old school feel while balancing new digital approaches to homage techniques but using more of a hip hop rhythm. It feels cool and authentic and yet new while also speaking to the mythology "The Harder They Fall" is a fun romp with a tried and true story to tell from a different perspecive but the same amount of mythos. A-
By Tim Wassberg
