Rent Jane Got a Gun (2016)

Awful attempt at a western - Jane Got a Gun review by Alphaville

This dour, one-note western never gets going. There’s so much wrong with it – the script, the direction, the sound, the score… None of it has any life at all. The acting is so monotone that it seems to have been post-dubbed in a recording booth, and it feels like you’re in the booth with them rather than in the great outdoors. Clichéd flashbacks explain the relationships among the characters but they’re irrelevant and further reduce what little narrative drive there is. The climax occurs inside a shack at night and is a masterclass in how not to direct action. It’s dark, it’s confusing, it’s shot too close-in with a handheld camera and is absolutely dire. Not that you’ll care who lives or dies anyway. The trailer shows all the best bits in two minutes without the flashbacks so just watch that instead.

Way, way better than its given credit for - Jane Got a Gun review by MD

I can understand why this film may not have gone down too well with either audiences or critics: (a) it is not your usual bang 'em, shoot 'em up western; (b) it is very uneven in quality; (c) it is not a story that will particularly grab your attention first time around.

Watching it, in respect of (b) there were times when I wanted to throttle the director, yet other times when it really had me gripped, and overall it was a film that grew on you the longer it went on. It is, without doubt, quite a deep drama, more akin to what you might see in the theatre than at the cinema, but it did have the virtue of seeming to portray pretty realistically the life of a woman in the wild west.

Ewan McGregor is becoming annoyingly cliched in every role he plays, but even he is okay here, and everyone else does a fine job of portraying the essentially rather stereotypical and shallow characters that play second fiddle to Natalie Portman. She has gone the opposite way from McGregor, leaving behind her pathethic roles like Queen Amidala to become an accomplished actress of some power, and whilst her role here is a touch unbelievable in parts, she commands the screen and delivers a complex, nuanced performance.

With regard to (c), once you watch it again (if you are so minded!) you will find it works a lot better, and comes across as quite a bold and challenging piece of some merit. Ultimately, I decided I liked it a whole lot better than many other more accessible movies, so if you can deal with its challenges and flaws, I think it deserves a viewing - or two!

Routine Western - Jane Got a Gun review by NO

Seen similar stories before-nothing original.The final inevitable shootout takes place at night & is difficult to see what is

going on.New Mexico scenery great but not much of it as all the action is indoors on the ranch.The happy ending is

rather contrived but nearly gave it 3 stars as it passed away an Evening.