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.
