NEW BLOOD IN THE OLD WEST.
Twenty years after his parents were murdered, Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) meets his former lover (Zazie Beetz) and soon sees his chance to get even with the man (Idris Elba) who destroyed his childhood. A revisionist Western with a unique touch, provided by the British artist Jeymes Samuel who made his directing debut. As expected, the soundtrack is a joy, blending its instrumental score with reggae and hiphop songs, but Samuel also has an eye for action and the tropes of the Western genre. Bloody and drawn-out, but the film is a creative and confident way to bring attention to the Black legends of the West, with a dedicated cast; Regina King is memorable as Elba’s tough partner-in-crime.
2021-U.S. 139 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Lawrence Bender, Jay-Z, James Lassiter, Jeymes Samuel. Direction, Music by Jeymes Samuel. Screenplay: Jeymes Samuel, Boaz Yakin. Cinematography: Mihai Malaimare, Jr. Cast: Jonathan Majors (Nat Love), Idris Elba (Rufus Buck), Zazie Beetz (Stagecoach Mary), Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield.
Trivia: Cynthia Erivo and Wesley Snipes were reportedly first part of the cast.
Last word: “If you take away the narrow, white-male-centric stories we were given, then that means you have a whole universe of stories with women of actual dominance, with people of color, all races. You have a whole genre. Basically, you have a genre where 90% of it is unexplored. So I’ll always be going back to the Old West. I love it too much.” (Samuel, Vanity Fair)
