The Last Rites of Ransom Pride

I can appreciate a short movie. But wow. This one is around 80 minutes, and feels it. Maybe it's because Tiller Russel is used to directing television, not full-length features. The scenes feel claustrophobic, and the pacing issue is exacerbated by muffled actors with fake accents. By the way, why do all Hollywood westerns use the same accent? That one that nobody actually hears from a real westerner? Is there evidence that people really said 'ma', not 'mom'?

One of the major issues with this film is that there's too much back-story. Robert Mckee might have lectured about beginning a story as deep into the action as possible, but when the majority of your film is explaining what happened before the movie takes place, then you know you've passed the mark.

Flashbacks are a device easily overused. This movie does a very strange thing with them. At the end of every action scene it rewinds and replays clips from that very same scene. It's kind of like after a TV show comes back from commercial break and recaps for viewers who might have just tuned in. Tiller, we know what happened, we just watched it.

Here's the synopsis. Tough 11 year old Juliette Flowers (Lizzy Caplan) slits a general's throat as revenge for killing her parents. When she grows up, she falls in love with an outlaw named Ransom Pride (Scott Speedman). Who would name their son Ransom, you might be wondering? Reverend Pride is who. Played by Dwight Yoakam the country singer--possibly the only actor on set who was famous enough to have an assistant. Reverend pride also has another son named Champ Pride (Jon Foster). Champ doesn't really say much and he's kind of a wuss, but he's got looks, which seems to carry him.

The outlaw brother, Ransom, goes to sell some guns and ends up in a shoot out, where he's killed. Before the shoot out, he had killed a priest. And the woman who's holding Ransom's body is a madam--or witchdoctor, take your pick--and sister to the priest. She wants to give Ransom's body up as an offering.  Enter the MacGuffin,--the plot element that gives the characters an excuse to kill each other. Juliette offers up Champ in exchange for the body. A weird trade if you ask me, a living person for a dead person, but nevertheless, Juliette goes to Texas to retrieve Champ.

The second act is pretty extraneous other than Juliette and Champ attracting a bunch of odd characters along their way back to the madam. Kind of like a twisted Wizard of Oz. We also find out that Champ is a good marksman. Naturally, instead of trading him Juliette wants him to kill the madam.

Meanwhile, the Reverend has sent thugs to shoot Juliette and retrieve Champ. So basically the Reverend wants to kill his dead son's girlfriend. All she's trying to do is recover his son's body for proper burial at this point. You'd think the Reverend would be supportive but no, he blames her for his son's death for some reason. And grudges run to grudges. It doesn't really matter. The motivation of the characters is pretty weak.

Spoiler Alert:
What's important is that Champ kills his father, the Reverend, over Juliette. Yes, he kills his own father for his girl. But who can say Romeo wouldn't have done the same for Juliet.
End Alert.

Some people go to the movies to see something visually impressive. Others go to the movies to watch a story unfold; that is, to be sucked in, to feel suspense, passion, catharsis. Those in the latter category will be severely disappointed with this film.

Stars: 1/5