Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Western 'Jane Got a Gun' wraps love story with absolute revenge

I will be reviewing Western movies because I'm a big fan. I do post my favorite Western movie trailers each month in the right column of this Blog. I will not review movies that portray Native Americans as laughable stereotypes.

JANE GOT A GUN from LIONS-GATE. A gang headed by John Bishop (Ewan McGregor) is searching for Bill Hammond (Noah Emmerich). He has been fatally shot before returning home to his wife Jane (Natalie Portman). She hires her ex-boyfriend Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton) to help fight Bishop's gang while Bill is laid up in bed. 

Dan and Jane were lovers before the War and desperate circumstances tear them apart. He returns to find that she has married Bill and they have a daughter. Dan and Jane's relationship is told in flashback against the backdrop of New Mexico 1866. The truth comes out as they barricade Bill's home. It eases the pain of their break-up. Jane and Dan still love each other as Bishop's gang descends upon the homestead. It turns out that there are posters of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" seeking Bill Hammond and the Bishop's gang. 

The problems that plagued this production is well documented. The original director quit on the first day of filming. The male cast, changed lead roles, numerous times and the movie's scheduled release was pushed forward just as many times from 2014 to 2016. The parent distributor "Relativity" almost went bankrupt and froze film release dates. "Jane" also had a screenplay that was rewritten after production was shut down in New Mexico. Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton save the film because of their chemistry. The last 30 minutes is action packed. I bought this on BluRay and it's worth it.

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