I happen to belong to that school of thought that says I've never seen a Western I didn't like. As I come here for this review, "The Harder They Fall" only merits a 6.0 rating from over four thousand viewers, and that to me seems considerably on the low side. Although the film really doesn't break any new ground in the area of story telling, I did find it highly entertaining and enjoyable. As I read some of the more negative reviews, there seems to be a preponderance of those who can't accept the idea of black cowboys in the Old West, but even a modest internet search will reveal that there were plenty, many of them freed slaves who went West following the Civil War. And it's not like the concept has never been attempted before. As far back as the Thirties, there were a handful of all Black Western films starring Herb Jeffries as a singing cowboy who's voice sounded to me a lot like Gene Autry.
The Tarantino influence is fairly evident in this picture. There's a lot of stylized violence and the song track is updated for a modern day hip-hop, reggae experience. For some, that would take the viewer right out of the story since the culture clash is right in your face, but I didn't find it all that distracting. What's novel here is a story about two outlaw gangs that go up against each other with the primary motivation being what it usually is - money, lots of it, and who it belongs to. The Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) gang finds itself allied with legendary lawman Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo), a name most wouldn't be familiar with, including myself up until a few years ago. As a real historical figure, Reeves operated as a lawman in the post-Civil War Territory of Oklahoma, arresting over three thousand outlaws and killing fourteen men.
Opposing the Love Gang is an outlaw bunch that goes by the name of Crimson Hood, led by the notorious Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). Buck is a prisoner when we first meet him, making his escape when allies Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) free him from a prison train. There's a connection between Buck and Love that's not readily apparent when they first come across each other, although observant Western fans might figure it out right out of the gate. Once it starts, the showdown between the rival desperadoes hits a fever pitch in the town of Maysville, Texas. It's where the androgynous Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler) makes a transformative appearance in a red dress to help Nat Love rob a bank in order to settle a score with Rufus Buck. He/she also surprises with an unseen quick draw on Cherokee Bill that takes him out of the story, a character actually that I was sorry to see who didn't make it to the end of the picture.
In any event, I thought the film was a blast, and was happy to catch it on it's Netflix debut last night. If it serves the purpose of inspiring a search into the history of black cowboys and the aforementioned All Black Western film genre, it will have done a nice side job to that of standing well on it's own. Just getting back to Herb Jeffries a minute, the pictures he appeared in play like virtually thousands of old B Westerns of the era, but the fact that he's in an all black cast is what makes it unusual. If you'd like a recommendation, try "Two Gun Man From Harlem", one of my favorites.
The Tarantino influence is fairly evident in this picture. There's a lot of stylized violence and the song track is updated for a modern day hip-hop, reggae experience. For some, that would take the viewer right out of the story since the culture clash is right in your face, but I didn't find it all that distracting. What's novel here is a story about two outlaw gangs that go up against each other with the primary motivation being what it usually is - money, lots of it, and who it belongs to. The Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) gang finds itself allied with legendary lawman Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo), a name most wouldn't be familiar with, including myself up until a few years ago. As a real historical figure, Reeves operated as a lawman in the post-Civil War Territory of Oklahoma, arresting over three thousand outlaws and killing fourteen men.
Opposing the Love Gang is an outlaw bunch that goes by the name of Crimson Hood, led by the notorious Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). Buck is a prisoner when we first meet him, making his escape when allies Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) free him from a prison train. There's a connection between Buck and Love that's not readily apparent when they first come across each other, although observant Western fans might figure it out right out of the gate. Once it starts, the showdown between the rival desperadoes hits a fever pitch in the town of Maysville, Texas. It's where the androgynous Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler) makes a transformative appearance in a red dress to help Nat Love rob a bank in order to settle a score with Rufus Buck. He/she also surprises with an unseen quick draw on Cherokee Bill that takes him out of the story, a character actually that I was sorry to see who didn't make it to the end of the picture.
In any event, I thought the film was a blast, and was happy to catch it on it's Netflix debut last night. If it serves the purpose of inspiring a search into the history of black cowboys and the aforementioned All Black Western film genre, it will have done a nice side job to that of standing well on it's own. Just getting back to Herb Jeffries a minute, the pictures he appeared in play like virtually thousands of old B Westerns of the era, but the fact that he's in an all black cast is what makes it unusual. If you'd like a recommendation, try "Two Gun Man From Harlem", one of my favorites.