Review #370 of 365
Movie Review of Seraphim Falls (2007) [R] 115 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Where Viewed: Landmark Chez Artiste, Denver, CO
Special Denver Film Society Advance Screening
When 1st Seen: 17 January 2007
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Film's Official Website and Trailer
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
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Directed by: David Von Ancken ("CSI: NY")
Written by: Abby Everett Jaques and David Von Ancken (Bullet in the Brain)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Pierce Brosnan (The Matador) • Liam Neeson (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) • Robert Baker (Little Athens) • Xander Berkeley (Champions) • Darren Gibson (Beerfest) • James Jordan ("Veronica Mars") • Ed Lauter (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) • Nate Mooney (Charlotte's Web) • Tom Noonan (They're Made Out of Meat) • Jimmi Simpson (Stay Alive) • Michael Wincott (Treasure Planet) • Shannon Zeller ("The Lost Room") • Angie Harmon (End Game) • Anjelica Huston (Material Girls)
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Liam Neeson becomes Captain Ahab and Pierce Brosan his Moby Dick in Seraphim Falls, a tense manhunt film set in the post civil war western USA. For reasons revealed only near the end of the film, Carver (Neeson) leads a posse of four men in tracking Gideon (Brosnan) deep into the snowy, mountainous regions in an undisclosed region of the mountainous west. His obvious motive is vengeance—something definitely served cold in this film. The film begins with a stunning action sequence of the raw brutality of a manhunt as they get a shot at Gideon encamped for the night. His horse flees leaving him shot in the arm, bleeding, and on the run now for his life. After rolling down hills, maybe too steep for expert skiers, he ends up escaping narrowly and only because he ends up in a roaring river and over some dangerous falls. Once out of range, he uses a knife of special significance—which we never learn—to painfully remove the bullet and sear the wound. It is a gut-wrenching sequence that will keep your heart pounding for minutes after. For all of the bad luck he faces in his getaway, it's difficult not to root for him even though it's not clear if he's really the good or the bad guy in the pair. As events progress, we see that Carver will stop at nothing to settle the score with Gideon even sacrificing the men of his posse for the effort. Gideon is incredibly clever coming up with ways to whittle down the hunting party one by one in hopes to scare away the remaining pursuers. But like Captain Ahab who risked his ship and the lives of his crew for the sweet but all to often sour taste of revenge, Carver presses on relentlessly.
"…it is the story…that sinks this film. Like a boat with a leak, after an hour, there's not much left."
Once again, it is the story, not how it is told, that sinks this film. Like a boat with a leak, after an hour, there's not much left. The characters are one-dimensional for the most part: Carver driven by his passion to kill Gideon and Gideon driven by his desire to escape. Which man has wronged the other? It takes to long to learn the answers, and when they come, it's unclear if Carver's singular focus is driven by his anger toward Gideon or himself for failing to act. Through the 115 minutes, not enough is revealed about the true nature of either man to know. Both commit callous acts paired with ones somewhat more chivalrous. Both take pains to find alternatives to killing, but go ahead and do so if necessary to reach their ends. They both encounter mysterious people along their journey with odd lessons to teach. An indigenous person near a water hole comes to mind as the most compelling, but the lessons he teaches each man are almost a little too much a little too late. It's unclear what value these people serve. Are they like bumper sticker quotations we read as we drive around our days that provide momentary glimpses of guidance, insight, or practical wisdom that are quickly forgotten around the next corner? The finale disappoints adding a cameo role for Angelica Huston that's too surreal to ascertain if her character and role are real or just a mirage in the desert where the men finally reach an anticipated final confrontation. Fans of Angie Harmon don't bother to see this film for her 120 seconds of screen time and few words of dialogue. In the end, it is possible to feel empathy for both men, just as one does for Ahab and the whale, but that alone does not satisfy in this ending as delivered.
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Cast Members
Pierce Brosnan • Liam Neeson • Angie Harmon
Anjelica Huston
Director / Co-Writer
David Von Ancken
Seraphim Falls (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
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