As this western opens a stage coach is about to be ambushed. Aboard are a conman, Jack Cooper; Mr and Mrs Hollister; Marshall Bill Speakes and his prisoner Sarah O'Rourke, who is being taken to be hanged. The ambush is unsuccessful but it does change Sarah's circumstances. She gets hold of a gun and has the Marshall and Mr Hollister cuffed to the coach before taking the money from the strong box... she doesn't have it long though before Cooper takes it from her and heads to a nearby town. Here she later catches up with him but they are both forced to flee as Speakes arrives. Cooper has a plan to get more money and he and Sarah form an unlikely partnership. Speakes and a posse are soon on their trail. As the story progresses we learn why she was sentenced to hang and why Speakes is taking it so personally.
I must admit that I hadn't heard of this western till I spotted the DVD in a charity shop. I like the genre and enjoyed other performances from Linda Fiorentino and Sam Elliott so decided to get it... I'm glad I did. In many ways the story is typical of the genre but there are some good twists; most notably having a female outlaw being pursued. There is a definite feminist undertone but I never thought it was lecturing... the more we learn about Sarah's circumstances the more sympathetic her character becomes. Linda Fiorentino is great in the role making her character both tough and sympathetic. Craig Sheffer puts in a fun performance as Jack Cooper and Sam Elliott impresses as the Marshall, a character who isn't unsympathetic despite his obvious desire to see Sarah hang. The rest of the cast are solid too. The action is exciting without being too bloody. The background music, with its extensive use of bells, might not be typical of a western but it certainly worked for me. Overall I was impressed by this film; if it wasn't for the 4x3 picture I wouldn't have guessed it wasn't made for a cinematic release. I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.
I must admit that I hadn't heard of this western till I spotted the DVD in a charity shop. I like the genre and enjoyed other performances from Linda Fiorentino and Sam Elliott so decided to get it... I'm glad I did. In many ways the story is typical of the genre but there are some good twists; most notably having a female outlaw being pursued. There is a definite feminist undertone but I never thought it was lecturing... the more we learn about Sarah's circumstances the more sympathetic her character becomes. Linda Fiorentino is great in the role making her character both tough and sympathetic. Craig Sheffer puts in a fun performance as Jack Cooper and Sam Elliott impresses as the Marshall, a character who isn't unsympathetic despite his obvious desire to see Sarah hang. The rest of the cast are solid too. The action is exciting without being too bloody. The background music, with its extensive use of bells, might not be typical of a western but it certainly worked for me. Overall I was impressed by this film; if it wasn't for the 4x3 picture I wouldn't have guessed it wasn't made for a cinematic release. I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.