This is the moodiest western I've seen (save perhaps the popular Unforgiven). It's dark. It's gloomy. It's also beautiful. There are shots of the Australian outback that belong on my wall. There's a very affecting scene somewhere in the middle of the film where a man sings a lovely Irish song that I can now hear my brother sing from time to time. But the song is forever connected to intercut shots of a mentally challenged outlaw being whipped to pieces. I can't describe how it makes me feel to hear something so beautiful sung while low volume screams of pain filter through. The acting is topped notch. While Guy Pearce is the most recognizable name from the bunch (he does a great job being quiet and letting his solemn face speak volumes), Ray Winstone and Danny Huston deliver amazing work. Ray Winstone is a sometimes brutal man who wants civility in a town where people are thirsty for revenge, and this conflict was the most interesting to me of the films many buttings of heads. More lyrical and poetic and gut wrenching is watching Guy Pearce toil over whether to kill one brother to save another. Danny Huston is an odd villain. He's a brutal killer with the soul of an artist (a crazy artist, but an artist none the less). The last shot of the film is the one that sticks with me the most. A bitter ending that paints the screen beautifully.
****
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