The Harder They Fall

Attempting to reinvent and create a refreshing twist to a century-old genre is quite the challenge, especially when it comes to westerns. And yet Jeymes Samuel takes that challenge and runs with it, crafting decently well written ideas that pair nicely with the concepts of this film. The Harder They Fall centers entirely on a tale of revenge, utilizing real life gunslingers to tell a story that most have heard before in a film. The plot is straightforward and linear, but Jeymes Samuel takes the concept to a unique level to show his level of stylized directing. It’s a violent and colorful take on a genre that is usually gray and dirty for the most part, pushing to break out of its shell to display one of the more unique westerns I have seen. 

Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), a smooth gunslinger, decides to run with his old gang and the last of his family to hunt down the devil himself after he’s released from prison, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). Revenge is a fools game, and these wild gunslingers are in over their heads. The Harder They Fall came as a delightful surprise this year, appearing as a passion project for Jeymes Samuel, he constructs an unconventional western that is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Although Samuel is trying to create a story of his own, you’ll find yourself comparing Tarantino’s spaghetti western to this modern take on the western genre when it comes to the many eccentric cinematography choices, such as crash zooms. And paired with the violence, Samuel’s film almost pawns itself as an homage to Django Unchained. But that’s not to say there isn’t any original material scattered throughout the film, there absolutely is and it certainly tries its best to remain separate and quirky in its own manner. And it is, without a doubt, very quirky. From the stylistic choices to the music, (which is also composed by the director) it is an action packed and colorful mess aiming to please and impress. 

Samuel’s all-black western consists of a powerhouse cast, carrying the load of this film on their backs, and giving hilariously real performances to charm audiences. With Jonathan Majors as the leader of our hero gang, Zazie Beetz, RJ Cyler, Delroy Lindo, Danielle Deadwyler, and Edi Gathegi fight alongside Majors’ character to forge bombastic dynamics. The Rufus Buck Gang on the other hand consists of a villainous, and gritty set of characters played by Idris Elba as Rufus Buck with Regina King, and LaKeith Stanfield by his side. There is an immense amount of talent gushing throughout the film, delivering the perfect mix of tension and comedic range the film needs in order to convince the audience of these 6-shooter killers. Even during scenes that are poorly paced and dragging on longer than they should, you can count on the many impeccable performances to entertain and make up for wasted time. Although each member of the cast receives a moment to shine, there is quite a glaring flaw that becomes distractingly obvious as the film gallops along. The character writing strafing throughout the film is almost abysmal, only taking the time to focus on either Rufus Buck or Nat Love. And despite the fact these two are the main characters, if a film is over 2 hours long, it should not be difficult to expect at least a speck of writing for our supporting cast. And it is extremely demanding to care about a majority of the cast when we’re given barely a shred of information about these characters, especially when this film subverts expectations so often.

Not only is the character writing a bit of a mess, the pacing of the film limps along on many occasions, focusing on ill-advised twists or moments particularly unimportant to the story. With a narrative so direct and containing little depth, it’s hard to understand how it was greenlit for 2 hours of runtime. A list could be made consisting of scenes that could be plucked from the film and it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Apart from the shifty pacing, the score/music spliced into specific scenes feels out of place for a majority of the film. Samuel experiments with this modernized western by remixing spaghetti western themes with a spunky, groovy twang. Although it’s a refreshing technique to attempt to revitalize a genre, it can become somewhat of a distracting feature. But some of the more enjoyable scenes are significantly assisted by the masterful cinematography, courtesy of Mihai Mălaimare Jr., who has previously worked on masterpieces such as P.T Anderson’s The Master and the comically beautiful film JoJo Rabbit, directed by Taika Waititi. Mălaimare Jr. displays a level of iconic talent that’s sure to absorb you into this new aged Wild West. It’s the playful movements of the camera that define the film, capturing the silly yet tense environment during scenes. 

The Harder They Fall is a modern revitalization but also an homage to the late and great spaghetti westerns many know and love,  a true love letter and rebuttal towards Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci who were instrumental in the advancement of Western film. Noticeable easter eggs paying homage to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966), Django (1966), Hellbenders (1967) and many other numerous films that have paved the way. It’s a beautiful aspect to recognize and a genuine letter of consideration to those who created such an era of film. 

Jeymes Samuel makes a solid strive to capture the classic look and feel of classic western cinema while also introducing his own reinventive ideas to revive a genre. And like many who take risks, there are ideas that work and there are some that never seem to pan out. But there’s no sense in completely bashing every new idea in this piece of film that’s merely looking to appreciate iconic cinema, while at the same time looking to resuscitate western film by inserting diversity. The film can certainly benefit from some reimagining of a few areas but it was a solid effort that deserves a sun of recognition for its aberrant style.