THE QUICK AND THE DEAD
A film review by Steven Krut
Copyright 1995 Steven Krut
**** (out of *****)
This movie has been out for a while, but is still showing at second run theaters. See it on the big screen if you can, but if that's not possible, this is a MUST RENT at the video store. Here's why:
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD is quite simply the most viscerally exciting western ever produced. This is due to the plot which is contrived (and I do mean contrived) to provide a full-throttled, HIGH NOON-style show down virtually every ten minutes of the film. The pretext for this action is a quick draw tournament organized by the town's oppressive boss, Herod (Gene Hackman). It's sort of like Wimbledon for shootists. There is, of course, no logical reason why so many people would be so willing to participate in such a deadly contest, but at least Herod has a solid rationale for holding the event. As he explains midway through the film, the tournament allows him to confront his enemies face to face instead of having them sneak up from behind. And he certainly has a lot of enemies. Every one of the Redemption's (the town) citizens would love to see him six feet under, and together they've secretly hired a professional gunman to take him out. The newly arrived drifter, Ellen (Sharon Stone), also wants him dead. Even Herod's illegitimate son, Kid, (Leonardo DiCaprio) wishes nothing more than to put a bullet through his father's brain (in order to gain his respect). DiCaprio's performance, by the way, as a determined buckaroo ablaze with youthful arrogance is one of the films brightest spots. As is Gene Hackman's performance. Portraying the maniacally evil Herod, he generates a palpable menace. His mere presence gives the film a solid grounding - just the right amount of realism to offset some of the movie's more whimsical qualities.
The story, though, revolves around Sharon Stone's character, Ellen, who in the film's catalogue of stock Western stereotypes corresponds to the Clint Eastwood character - the cool, steel-eyed stranger who rides into town with a mysterious agenda. The decision by Simon Moore, the script writer, to give the story a female hero is both the film's greatest strength and weakness. It's a weakness really in a marketing sense since, judging from the film's poor box office performance, the predominantly male audience for Westerns isn't ready for a strong woman gun slinger. This I know from personal experience, since I am (or was) one of these men. I didn't see this movie when it first came out because I was turned off by the trailer showing a tough, squint-eyed Sharon Stone slinging bullets with the baddest dudes the West had to offer. I just didn't buy it. Women aren't tough, at least I don't want them to be. Not tough like Clint, anyway. And besides, it isn't historically accurate. Everyone knows there were no women gun slingers in the Wild West. Certainly none as stunningly beautiful as Sharon Stone. I imagined the film to be a blatant feminist attempt to show that women can be just as ruthless and cold-hearted as men.
When I finally saw the movie, however, I realized I'd jumped to a pig-headed conclusion. First of all, because the movie doesn't pretend to be recreating a historically accurate vision of the Old West, it doesn't really matter whether there were women like Ellen back then or not. Secondly, Stone does a good job of showing that Ellen's toughness is really a front, that underneath she's afraid and struggling for courage. This makes her human and thus believable. The script helps Ms. Stone out by giving Ellen a strong motivation for becoming such an expert shootist. The result is the first completely believable female gun-slinging hero. It's a fairly noteworthy achievement, actually, and one which ultimately enhances the film by providing a fresh twist on what otherwise would have been just another cliched character.
Speaking of cliches, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD is rife with them. This is a deliberate artistic choice by Mr. Moore who gleefully piles every hackneyed Western convention in on top of the story, twisting and stretching each one into a cartoonish parody of itself. It's most evident in the gunplay which is some of wildest, most stylized gunplay ever seen. I mentioned earlier that the film doesn't try to accurately recreate the Old West. Instead, it builds its own hyperactive version. This is a turbo-Western. The emphasis here is not on character development or plot intricacies, but on sheer heart-pounding adrenaline. The story, such as it is, unfolds as a quasi-parable and in this respect is similar to HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. Unfortunately, also like HPD, it isn't clear what the parable is about. Still, there are some intriguing moments involving Cort (Russell Crowe). Cort is a former member of Herod's gang who has renounced violence. He's become a priest and the scenes where Herod parades him, shackled and beaten, before a taunting crowd have a vague relevance to them. I got the impression a comparison was being attempted to present day America and/or the New Testament. But the theme isn't followed-up as the cruel tournament advances relentlessly, one bloody duel after another.
Sam Raimi, the director, is perfectly suited to this kind of script. You may be familiar with him from the "Evil Dead" movies and DARKMAN. He has an eccentric visual style to put it mildly, but to his credit he's fairly restrained here. The only time he really lets loose is during the actual showdowns and then his inventiveness serves to heighten the drama. The camera zooms in on the antagonists' eyes, then on the clock about to strike noon, then follows the bullets as they whiz through the air. Special effects and striking camera angles pump up the tension to a fantastic pitch. These are the most thrilling gun duels I've ever seen. Any single one of them could easy serve as the climax for a more modest film, but here they come fast and loose in a glorious string of Western carnage. Great stuff.
One flaw, though, is the film's ending which is formulaic. I suppose it's a reasonable enough wrap-up considering the nature of the story, but since the film was so witty all the way through, I was expecting something more original. What happens is this: Evil, which has kicked Good's butt all the way through the film, is closing in for the kill when, with a burst of inspiration, the heroes avoids tragedy by employing a clever though highly improbable gimmick. The tables are turned, most of the set blows up real good, and the bad guys get what's coming to them. I don't think I'm giving anything away by revealing this. This is a Hollywood movie, after all. How else did you think it was going to end?
Minor complaints aside, however, I have to say that THE QUICK AND THE DEAD really has a lot going for it. This is a movie which succeeds at everything it attempts. It's funny, clever, compelling and even breaks new ground for female leads. It's also full of great performances. What more do you want from a movie?
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