Jane Got a Gun (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – A woman asks her ex-lover for help in order to save her outlaw husband from a gang out to kill him.

My Take – I am not into Western films usually. Mainly because Westerns are something of an anomaly when it comes to the movie genre. With genres like horror or action, there is a clear motive as to why we will see it; we either want to have the adrenaline rush of fear or watch violence up close, all within a safe environment. Westerns, however, can evoke different motives as to why they are wanted. But of course their are exceptions for example last month’s The Hateful Eight (which I loved by the way) and The Revenant are some fine examples of why this genre needs to survive. This film which was picked up after being ‘the most likable’ script from a list of unmade movies, was one of the few films I have been waiting to watch for sometime now. I was worried when I first started hearing about this film since everything that we heard brought up the troubled production and all the people that were shuffled around and left the project. I was starting to wonder if the movie was actually going to get made. This film took a long, rocky road to the big screen. After many heated arguments with its producers, the original director Lynne Ramsay no-showed on the first day of production back in 2013. Several cast members backed out as well, including Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender and Jude Law. But Natalie Portman stayed grounded in the project. The good news is that it is not as bad as people feared. Yes! This isn’t anywhere near one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen but it’s decent and enjoyable considering the small number of westerns that are released nowadays. The thing is the film doesn’t feel like an epic passion project as it was being made out to be. This modestly charming film is more akin to a pulpy paperback western seen in the back old days at the height of B-movies popularity.

The story follows Jane Hammond (Natalie Portman), a wife and mother living in a small house in Middle-of-nowhere, New Mexico in 1871, six years after the Civil War ended. When her husband, Bill (Noah Emmerich), shows up at home with five bullets in his back, Jane springs into action. The Bishop Boys gang, led by John Bishop (Ewan McGregor), and including violent men with names like Fitchum (Rodrigo Santoro), have an old grudge against Bill & Jane. He may have gotten away for the moment, but they intend to find him and finish them off. After patching up her husband as well as she could, Jane rides to the house of Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton), trying to enlist his help in defending her home and her family. Dan turns her down cold, but soon reconsiders. Dan and Jane had been engaged before the war. Dan went off to join the Union Army and wasn’t heard from for three years. By the time he and Jane were reunited, Jane had married Bill and had his baby. There’s no love lost between Dan and Bill, but Dan can’t bear the thought of leaving Jane to the mercy of the Bishop Boys, a decidedly unmerciful group. As the big confrontation with John Bishop and company draws ever closer, flashbacks progressively tell us more about the past interactions among these four characters – including some well-kept secrets that, once revealed, will change everything. This film is more of a romantic drama than an explosive adventure. It does have some explosions, but this isn’t the gun-slinging, girl-power western that audiences are probably expecting. Just as Jane exacts revenge with calm reserve, director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) shows remarkable restraint in the shoot-’em-up action scenes. The film spends a great deal of time wallowing in Dan and Jane’s past relationship and current tension with one another. The movie is a bit too heavy on flashback sequences, which aren’t always necessary to convey Dan and Jane’s history. A lot of Westerns use the journey from point A to point B to help build exposition and backstory. Here, they decided to tell of Jane and Dan’s story via flashbacks that mirror memories, which are very hit-or-miss (the hot air balloon memory seemed really out of place). Furthermore, the movie can’t really decide on whether Jane or Dan is the main protagonist, causing confusion with how to receive Jane’s story. The film’s biggest problem is its somber tone, which makes its 98 minute running time feel much longer. It’s telling a serious story, but a little comic relief would have helped move the action along. This is an old fashioned western tale of revenge, but there’s no joy to be found in any of it, even when the bad guys are getting their comeuppance. Granted, Jane goes through several life altering, troubling incidents, but this is a movie after all, and we, the audience, as well as Jane, deserve some sort of satisfaction. What comes here, comes at the end and it feels like a case of too little, too late. But, while the messes are bound to happen when a movie changes hands, it is still very entertaining. There are a lot of great shots, and the natural lighting gives the movie a darkness needed to envelop the narrative.

The central western at hand – outlaw vs. outlaw gang – is nothing new but is done well and the most engaging part of the story. Its setting of the Old West may suggest plenty of gun fights and action, but what we get is much more. There are a number of exciting scenes that are very well staged and executed, but the script is even more appealing than the film’s action sequences. The story is interesting and told very effectively, with some nicely quotable dialog along the way. The interactions between the characters make for a complicated and intriguing dynamic, helped along by great performances from the talented and experienced cast. Despite the many cast changes, it’s still the film’s stars that are the best things in it. Portman and Edgerton play off each other well but Portman always remains the center of the film. Natalie Portman makes an effective Western heroine. She’s beautiful, but in a believable way. This isn’t a revisionist Western. She dresses appropriately and doesn’t suddenly turn into a gunslinger. She is no damsel in distress in a western picture. She is the film’s strength and epicenter, trying to protect the world around her and mend issues from the past. Joel Edgerton is equally effective as the ex-boyfriend wearing his heart on his sleeve. Edgerton is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors out there right now. He melds right into this role and gives us all the angst that this character requires. The main villain John Bishop is played to the hilt by McGregor with a twirling mustache. McGregor is a talented actor but his character comes across as cartoonish and not convincing. It is never completely explained why he is so obsessed with Jane. One grisly flashback shows their connection but again the device proves more of a hindrance than anything else. McGregor brings a little slimy spark as the villain and if he’d been allowed to play it a bit more over the top he might have provided the missing fun, but in the end, he’s just another stereotypical bad guy who doesn’t know when to shut up and shoot. Noah Emmerich & Rodrigo Santoro are good. On the whole, ‘Jane Got A Gun’ might not be a classic but it serves its purpose of being a decent entertainer. Considering its reportedly troubled production, it’s almost disappointing that it’s not a train wreck or at least an edgier effort. Nevertheless it takes up a spot in the harmless fun category.