Seraphim Falls

The welcome revival of the Western genre continues with David Von Ancken's Seraphim Falls, resurrecting the old plot chestnut about one man's relentless pursuit of another to avenge a wrong. But the tale is invested here with a sense of importance—or, if you prefer, pretension—thanks to gorgeous locations, stylistic flourishes, and a final act that decidedly moves from heightened realism to mysticism. The film begins with the shooting of a solitary mountain traveler, eventually identified as an ex-Union army officer (Pierce Brosnan) by one of four hired guns working for a grimly determined colonel (Liam Neeson). The wounded man extracts the bullet himself (in one of several scenes that will have many averting their eyes) and manages to pick off some of the posse with stratagems that some viewers will find disgusting and others pleasurably imaginative. After this, Seraphim Falls becomes a kind of weird picaresque journey as hunted and hunters encounter a succession of colorful characters until Brosnan and Neeson face off against one another alone on a parched desert plain. Even if the filmmakers' attempt to invest the stock story with mythic qualities doesn't fully come off, this update on a classic Western theme is enjoyable to watch. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary (with costar Pierce Brosnan, writer-director David Von Ancken, and production designer Michael Hanan), a 19-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an interesting contemporary western.] (F. Swietek)