Seraphim Falls (2006)

Today we’re gonna take a look at a movie of a genre that I’ve never discussed before; western. I don’t know why, but despite its popularity, the western genre has never really caught on with me. I remember watching Clint Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’ after reading a lot of rave reviews for it, but I was left feeling unimpressed after the credit rolled. I have always chalked this failure to appreciate westerns down to cultural differences, since I’m not American.

However I’ve had the pleasure of watching this little-known western movie which I thoroughly enjoyed; ‘Seraphim Falls” on satellite TV. It stars two of the most solid male actors of their generation; Liam Neeson and former James Bond; Pierce Brosnan in a story about a former Confederate colonel (Neeson) who doggedly hunts and tracks down a Union general (Brosnan) after the end of the American Civil War to exact revenge. Brosnan and Neeson’s performance together is what drives this otherwise sparse and lonely movie. Now I say sparse and lonely in a good way, as their characters obsessively try to outsmart, evade and track down each other by slinking away into the farthest and darkest reaches of 19th century America.

The director of this movie; David von Ancken plies his trade mostly in the TV industry, having directed a number of ‘CSI:NY’ episodes, the David Duchovny vehicle ‘Californication’ and also ‘The Vampire Diaries’. It’s great that he shows adept skills in making the transition from the small screen to the silver screen. Plus it’s not everyday that you get to work with Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan for your first movie. The movie presents to the viewers the loneliness that is faced by someone who is obsessed about anything as he foregoes all logic and reason to pursue his purpose in life, as exemplified by Neeson’s character. This movie could be yet just another revenge movie, but for the untamed beauty of the movie’s setting and the cinematography work with which the director used to capture this beauty.

So if you can, do catch this movie. It’s not awfully remarkable or anything like that, but it delivers its promises and the acting is top notch.

The GOOD:
- The performance of the two leads is very good, feeding off and working from each other.
The BAD:
- The ending might be a little too open-ended for some. But pay attention to the lady who sells the snake oil and you’ll get it.
My VERDICT: I give ‘Seraphim Falls’ a 7.5/10
TRIVIA: Although the two lead characters are Americans, they are both played by non-Americans.