In 1869, former Union Captain Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) is chased across the wilderness by a posse led by the brutal Carver (Liam Neeson).

CRITIQUE

Seraphim Falls is one of the best westerns in a while, a lean, often dialogue-free tale that is essentially one long chase, starting in snowy mountains and ending in a hot desert; the movie was filmed in New Mexico, and the landscape is definitely a major element here, with over 90% of the movie taking place outdoors.  The result is very good of its type; writer-director David von Ancken does a good job weaving his story throughout, keeping the tale moving forward relentlessly, and this is well worth seeking out.

The interesting thing about this is that we are dropped into the midst of the tale, which literally starts with Gideon (Brosnan) getting attacked at his mountain campfire and fleeing for his life down the mountain, a harrowing sequence in which the wounded Gideon survives a string of difficult situations.  Gideon is being pursued by a quintet of armed men led by Carver, and what soon becomes clear is that we aren’t being given enough information early on to know quite whom to root for – it isn’t clear if Carver is a bad man chasing down a good one, or if it is Gideon who is the villain and Carver the hero.

Von Ancken does a good job sustaining this for most of the screenplay, mostly through a series of well-drawn setpieces that keep the drama going on the tensions high.  When the revelations come about what is driving the two men, they are solid, satisfying ones, and though the climax has a clunky element or two (a metaphor-heavy appearance by Anjelica Huston late feels a bit awkward), the story wraps up solidly.  The tale is more serious than it is purely entertaining, but the result is a good ride, and it’s a shame that it vanished from theaters after a limited run without making an impact – it’s a movie that deserves to be discovered.

THE VIDEO

Seraphim Falls was mastered in high definition, and is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen.  Aside from some darker shots that didn’t show up well, most of this looks good, nicely capturing the wilderness that most of the film takes place in. 

THE AUDIO

Seraphim Falls is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are no foreign language soundtracks, though there are English, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

In a Commentary Track, Pierce Brosnan, writer/director David Von Ancken and Production Designer Michael Hanan talk about the locations and the difficulty shooting some of the scenes.  It’s an amiable, appealing commentary, though there are times when they just stop to watch the movie for a while.  Somewhat frustratingly, they also keep talking about deleted scenes, funny blooper bits and Von Ancken’s calling-card short film, all of which Brosnan urges Von Ancken to put on the DVD.  But none of them are here.

There is an 18-minute Featurette on the making of the film, which is fairly solid of its type, though don’t watch it before watching the movie, because it gives away too much.

FINAL THOUGHT

A solid western that unfairly came-and-went at the box office without making a dent, though it’s definitely worth catching up with on DVD, particularly if you are a fan of the genre.