It is often customary to start a review off with a plot
summary. However, when discussing this film, plot isn’t the first thing a
viewer should know.
In 2011, a little screenplay called Jane Got A Gun by
Brian Duffield appeared on The Blacklist, a yearly rundown of all the unseen,
unmade, highly-desirable scripts in Hollywood. Natalie Portman was quickly
attached to the product, accompanied by Lynne Ramsay, a polarizing but
respected director. Michael Fassbender and Joel Edgerton joined the cast.
Everything seemed to be going well for a time. Then Fassbender left, pointing
to creative differences between himself and Ramsay. Thus began a relentless
reshuffling of actors, directors, cinematographers, and writers as names like
Jude Law and Bradley Cooper disappeared from top-billing as quickly as they
appeared. The dust finally settled with Gavin O’Connor, hot off his successful
film, Warrior, as director, Edgerton as co-writer and co-lead alongside
Portman, and Ewan McGregor playing the film’s villain. Filming began in March
of 2013. Nearly three years later, in January of 2016, the world finally saw Jane
Got A Gun. Less than a year later, one of the most highly-praised scripts
in existence ended up on the bottom of my “Suggestions for You” tab on Netflix.
Jane Got A Gun tells the story of a woman defending
her home and loved ones from a bloodthirsty group of criminals. Jane Hammond
lives in a cabin with her husband Bill and daughter Katie. Bill, a wanted
criminal, comes home one day mortally injured by the Bishop Boys, a group of
men terrorizing the Western frontier. Knowing she cannot defend herself and her
dying husband alone, Jane seeks out her ex-fiancee, Dan Frost (played by Joel
Edgerton). As John Bishop (McGregor) and his men come closer and closer to the
cabin, Jane and Dan are forced to battle through both their troubled past
together and the less-than-friendly forces around them.
When you assemble a cast of respected performers like
Portman, Edgerton, and McGregor, it is almost inevitable that you will receive
a film full of stellar acting. Natalie Portman shines in her role, channeling a
quiet strength and resilience that reinforces the humble tone of Jane Got A
Gun. Dialogue is understated in this film, only really serving to advance
along a very image-driven movie. However, the fear and fortitude in Portman’s
eyes puts this up with Black Swan as one of her most impressive acting
feats. Edgerton plays an Edgerton-type hero well in a solid, if largely
forgettable performance. Ewan McGregor disappears into his character, playing a
near unrecognizable villain to sadistic, sinister excellence.
As a Western, this film pays tribute to the danger and the
beauty of the Wild West in a skillful way. Action pieces are well-directed
(especially one climactic fight scene). However, like O’Connor’s other 2016
release, The Accountant, the action takes a back seat to the character
moments. Really, Jane Got A Gun is much more of a drama than an action
film, featuring one of the most unnecessary R-ratings of the year, driven up
into Adult territory by a few unnecessary blood spurts and three or four even
less necessary R-caliber obscenities. A mild issue I have with Jane is
simply that it would have made a much more successful PG-13 mid-March release
than an R-rated January dump destined to be forgotten.
There are definite problems with Jane Got A Gun. The
story plods along slowly and methodically, which is not necessarily a negative.
However, when this occurs to the extent of Jane, then it becomes extremely
difficult to finish the film in one sitting without checking out a few times to
scan Instagram while another deep,
light-on-the-words-heavy-on-the-prolonged-eye-contact discussion occurs between
Edgerton and Portman. The direction of the action scenes was also very
ineffectual at times. In one pivotal scene, I could barely tell what was going
on even with the brightness turned up all the way on my TV.
A common complaint voiced against this film involves the
script. As detailed above, this movie went through rewrite after rewrite and
director change after director change. Considering its history, nothing about Jane’s
script felt unfathomably bad. Instead, it simply flowed mediocrely with
dialogue only really serving to reinforce the non-dialogue-driven performances.
Those production issues are the all-encompassing umbrella under which to put
all complaints against Jane Got A Gun. I never felt like I was watching
a cohesive film. Instead, I enjoyed a series of well-acted scenes that strung
together to form an intriguing plot in an often unintriguing way.
So why did I like this movie after all that? Natalie
Portman. That really is all it comes down to. Jane Hammond was a compelling
character and Portman gave her everything to the role. I was mildly frustrated
with her character, for, as I described to Ryan McKenna, one of
MercWithAMovieBlog’s editors, “she is either the most badass damsel in distress
ever or the most damsel in distress-y badass ever.” I would not have minded
Jane being the standard female trope in a Western. I would have loved seeing
her be an inversion of the tropes, embodying a progressive, strong-willed role.
Instead, audiences got something directly in between. However, all that aside,
Portman truly brought her A-game to the role, which alone drove this movie deep
into Fresh territory. For, as the name implies, Jane Got A Gun fails or
succeeds on the shoulders of Jane. Portman deserved a better movie than this. I
am so ridiculously excited for Jackie now.
From the moment I first heard about Jane Got A Gun, I
was excited. I’ve always loved Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman. Westerns hold
a special place in my heart after growing up on John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.
In the end, Jane Got A Gun does not earn a spot alongside The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Unforgiven, or other modern Western
classics. However, it is definitely worth watching, especially since it is so
easy to find on Netflix. In fact, despite its problems, it will probably end
the year in my Top 20 or Top 25 of 2016.
Jane may not have a great flowing plot. It may have
some major identity issues. However, despite all that, Jane definitely
also has my stamp of approval.
See Jane Got A Gun tonight. Check out Jackie
tomorrow. Thanks for reading my ridiculously long review. Until next time,
Mercs!
Jonathan’s Score: 7/10
This looks good to watch.. A good movie.
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