Please welcome guest contributor Jasmine Graham
Westerns are not a genre I’m a massive fan of so I had no idea what to expect from The Harder They Fall, a directorial debut from Jeymes Samuels, a singer-songwriter from England. The film, now streaming on Netflix, follows Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) spending the course of the film avenging his parents death as a child to Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) and his gang. Joining them in the ensemble cast are Edi Gathegi, Regina King, and Zazie Beetz to name a few. The cast is exceptional, with wonderful chemistry and such good performances that it’s hard to name one standout. The film is a western, through and through, with bloody and violent shootouts that do not disappoint...
On a technical level, The Harder They Fall is well constructed and directed, especially for a debut. Of note, the sound work throughout the film is strong, showcased as it is in multiple gun fights. It also makes memorable use of echo-work. In the beginning of the movie, Nat Love shoots his gun in a canyon towards some men. Later in the movie, a character is beat up, and we look at his assailant from his point of view. The result is a disorienting shot, with echoing dialogue that mirrors the characters state. The editing, paired with musical cues, slowing down for deaths and picking back up, was especially satisfying. The soundtrack is fantastic. Jay-Z gets the opening song and the music throughout the rest of the movie is even better, perfectly suited to each scene. It reminded me of the way that the music was used in Baby Driver, in which an action film feels like a movie musical. In a bank robbery scene, for example, the gunshots line up with the music in very entertaining ways.
The cinematography doesn't work quite as well. While the bright light and colour palette fits the overall style beautifully (so nice to see a film avoid the dark and dreary), some shots are uncomfortably close-up and it's hard to get on board with the multiple zoom-ins.
Despite some strong technical merits and a great cast, the story and characters are less satisfying, doing nothing particularly new within the genre; it's a very simple tale of revenge. As a result you're merely observing Nat Love's journey rather than truly connecting or rooting for him. The pacing is also too slow for such a long film (nearly two and half hours) though it picks up in time for a wonderful showdown at the tail end. Despite some hiccups, it will be exciting to see what Jeymes Samuels does after this debut. B
Awards chances: Not much realistically, but there’s a world where it earns both Best Song and Best Sound nominations with Oscar. A SAG ensemble nomination also wouldn't be a shock.
You can follow Jasmine on twitter @queerfilmnerd or on letterboxd.