Thursday, June 19, 2008

Shadows in the Sun

Author(s): Adam
Location: TX

"Shadows in the Sun"

Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Michael Mann
Produced by: Art Linson, Frank Darabont, Michael Mann
Music by: Gustavo Santoalalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel)
Cinematography by: Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men)

Main Cast

HUGH JACKMAN as Jack "The Fast Hand" Francis
LIAM NEESON as James Nolan
BENICIO DEL TORO as Frank Coronado
JENNIFER CONELLY as Annabelle Molly
PAUL GIAMATTI as Paul Mayland
VING RHAMES as Zeus Wendell
SISSY SPACEK as Joan Flowers
HARVEY KEITEL as Bill "The Savior" Riley
SEU JORGE as Julian Charles
VIGGO MORTENSSEN as David Dove

Rated R for strong violence, language, mild sexuality and brief nudity

Tagline: "When the law shines a light of evil, the good will cast their shadows"

Synopsis: Jack "The Fast Hand" Francis (Jackman) is one of the most wanted outlaws in parts of the West. Given his status, he is can merely be described as an anti-hero. Every bank he has ever robbed has taken down greedy businessmen and land owners and helped the common folk, and every man he has ever killed, has been in defense against figures far more villainous than himself. He is also known as the "Fast Hand" for his skills of quickly drawing out his gun and shooting a man in the blink of an eye. After a gripping confrontation in his hotel room against three corrupt bounty hunters in his hotel room the previous night, the story begins with Francis riding into an isolated unknown town named Driskill where he has come to seek temporary refuge and continue on his journey to start anew. Francis rides into town in a classic "man with no name" fashion. The town seems normal and quiet, but as soon as he enters into the town saloon, bar tender and owner Paul Mayland (Giamatti) warns (in a fearful tone) that "this town isn't too friendly to strangers." Francis begins to note a sense of fear in the town's residents. Among them are Annabelle Molly (Connelly), a widow trying her hardest to run her deceased husband's hardware store and make enough money to pack up and leave the town for good, but it keeps coming hard when the town's corrupt sheriff places hight greedy taxes on the town's resident business owners. He also meets Joan Flowers (Spacek), a local prostitute manager who also seems in fear of the sherrif, and Julian Charles (Jorge), a Carribean immigrant who works for the sheriff and is described as a fearful man of a few words. Finally, Francis meets the town's feared sheriff and "mayor," James Nolan (Neeson). Their introduction is brief and mainly consists of Nolan telling Francis to have his brief stay in the town and move on soon. It is obvious Nolan is suspicious of Francis. Francis begins to get acquainted with Annabelle Molly, who shows a liking to Francis, but keeps very closed about the death of her husband and her fear of Nolan. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, Francis is knocked out and taken to Nolan by his right hand man David Dove (Viggo Mortenssen). Nolan informs Francis that he knows of his reputation and offers him a proposition, join him and work for him in his corrupt ways or be turned in to the law that seeks him and have an assurance of execution. Francis thinks for a second and in a fooling way grabs Dove's gun and goes into a standoff scenario with Nolan and Dove, eventually killing Dove. At this point, some of Nolan's men take down Francis and at early dawn, take him out to the center of town, and publicly shoot a bullet through his signature right hand, the hand he uses to shoot. Nolan places an unconscious Francis on his horse and forces the horse to ride away, informing his men that the law will eventually find him and do what they should with him. Unconscious, Francis is found by a man named Bill Riley, who is known as "The Savior." He awakens in a room and Riley explains what has occurred to him. Francis knows Bill Riley as a former outlaw who once disappeared after a grisly shootout with a corrupt lawman, who is eventually revealed to be Nolan. Francis also meets Frank Coronado, an ex-outlaw who's brother and former partner was killed by Nolan, and Zeus Wendell, an ex-slave turned outlaw whom Nolan profited off of. The three have been hiding out for a year and planning on the day they would strike back against Nolan. Jack Francis has completed the circle of outlaws. Riley tells Nolan of their plan to strike back against Nolan and of a fact that Nolan has a large amount of gold and blood money stashed away that they plan to retrieve from him. Francis also learns that Nolan has also learned that Nolan was responsible for the death of Molly's husband. Francis agrees and now learns that he must learn to draw and shoot with his left hand. After a time of training, Francis learns to shoot with his left hand and the four outlwas, stocked with the right ammunition, march into town for a showdown agaisnt Nolan and his men. The film's climax gives a phenomenal standoff between the outlaws and Nolan's men complete with flying bullets, gunplay, phenomenal camera work, tracking shots, cinematography, and high octane action. In the end, some of the town's fearful residents including Paul Mayland and Julian Charles join in to take down Nolan. Nolan kills Bill Riley in their confrontation and Francis eventually takes down Nolan in a phenomenal man to man standoff scene. The town is now liberated of Nolan's evils and the stash of gold and money is found in a hidden safe in his office. The money is given to the town's citizens to start anew and Bill Riley is given a proper man's funeral. We also see that Francis and Annabelle Molly have taken a liking to each other but in contrary to the typical happy ending, Francis says that although he is fond of her, he feels he has to continue to ride on and continue his duty ridding the land of its corrupt figures, although implying that the two would meet again soon. The films finale shows Francis, Coronado and Wendell riding away across the land into the sun casting their shadows.

What the Press would say:

"A phenomenal western. One of the best since Unforgiven, the Dollars Trilogy and The Proposition. Michael Mann has always been a notable director and writer and has now made his mark as an action icon. A well-balanced show of high-octaner action, great characters and dramatic storytelling. A sure future classic."

"Michael Mann can now officially join the ranks of iconic directors to win an oscar.'

"Everything about this film goes together perfectly, the acting, the pace, the cinematography, the score, the screenplay. Its a gem."

"Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Connelly, Liam Neeson, Harvey Keitel and Ving Rhames have just taken their places in the oscar race."

FYC:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR- Michael Mann
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Michael Mann
BEST ACTOR- Hugh Jackman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Liam Neeson
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Ving Rhames
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Harvey Keitel
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Connelly
BEST SCORE
BEST CINEATOGRAPHY
BEST FILM EDITING

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