‘The Harder They Fall’ is a brutal Western with bounce
Netflix
Casting isn’t everything, but it’s something. Well, not in comedy -- not funny is not funny, no matter who’s stuck in it. Well-cast but lousy comedies make you want to turn off the movie and hang out with the people. Surely that technology is right around the corner.
In drama, though, it is possible to be happy to see some people doing anything. And “The Harder They Fall” should win an award for crushing its casting process, including still-underrated veterans (Idris Elba, the deserving heir to Bond who may never be; Regina King, admittedly pretty worshipped at this point; Delroy Lindo, snubbed of an Oscar nom for “Da 5 Bloods”) and young actors (Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, RJ Cyler, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi) who deserve to be massive stars and now, maybe, I hope, seem like they’re on track to be just that. All of these people are crucial in keeping this Western, an extremely rare example in the genre by having a predominantly Black cast, engaging even when the story otherwise fails to maintain consistent interest.
The short version of the plot is a tale of revenge. The longer version involves rival gangs and lovers on the outs and train hijacking and bank robberies. If you like Westerns, great. If you usually don’t, it’s important to mention that the genre most associated with John Wayne usually doesn’t include Jay-Z (a producer on the film), Lauryn Hill, CeeLo and Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara on the soundtrack. Elements of tradition in the narrative certainly aren’t reinforced in the aural style, and that goes for the visuals as well. The first quarter of the movie overdoes it a bit in its Tarantino-isms, a little insecure at the start as if worried people will check out without repeated reminders that this is different.
“While the events of this story are fictional,” the opening text on screen asserts, “These. People. Existed.” That’s kind of an odd way to say “Inspired by true events,” though it’s meant to ensure reality isn’t forgotten. The script by first-time feature director Jeymes Samuel (a British singer/producer/filmmaker and younger brother of Seal!) and Boaz Yakin (“Fresh,” “Now You See Me”) incorporates numerous lines meant to speak to contemporary America. “How long you been alive in this country?” asks Trudy (King) when a man complains that a proposed tax puts him and his town between a rock and a hard place. “A rock and a hard place is what we call Monday.” To an extent, “The Harder They Fall” is about legacies of pain, and struggles for power, and retribution against those who tip the scales of society toward inequality. Robbing banks is wrong. Stealing from racists doesn’t seem as bad.
I won’t claim to be an expert on Westerns, and all viewers should recognize the subjectivity of art and how what they watch connects in a particular way because of the interaction between the material and the person absorbing it. There’s a fantastic early sequence in which “Stagecoach” Mary (Beetz) sings about people being enslaved and breaking chains while tapping the butt of a gun against the floor and the packed audience chanting along, the performance ending with “Not again.” There’s so much power there, and in many moments throughout, whether it’s Mary kissing and punching Nat (Majors) to remind him how things were and how things are; or how Cherokee Bill (Stanfield) tells white soldiers that he doesn’t prefer violence but, because of the people he is with, the soldiers are now in the company of violent individuals; or the way Rufus (Elba), Nat’s enemy, says, “Rest in peace, James,” like the innocent man he just met is responsible for Rufus shooting him. Taking time to develop humanity on both sides of the battle, the movie is loaded with characters, and actors, who don’t need to raise their voices to demonstrate command.
Samuel’s style wavers (the mix of smooth and gruesome can be awkward, and moments that seem to strive for coolness within violence feel out of step with more sober ones) and the plot sags in terms of the dimensions of the characters and their relationships. But Majors (just announced as an upcoming “SNL” host!) deserves every starring role he gets after breaking out in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”), and Beetz gives Mary a ton of strength, a level part of the team.
Samuel has said he made “The Harder They Fall” because many don’t know that there were Black people in the Old West. A good reason, well executed.
B
ARE YOU A “SAVED BY THE BELL” FAN?
Order “Zack Morris Lied 329 Times! Reassessing every ridiculous episode of ‘Saved by the Bell’ … with stats” (featuring interviews with 22 cast members, plus the co-founder of Saved by the Max and the creator of “Zack Morris is Trash”)
GET 100 STORIES FOR JUST $4.99