The Ballad of Lefty Brown

Starring: Bill Pullman, Peter Fonda, Kathy Baker, Tommy Flanagan, Jim Caviezel, Lewis Pullman, Diego Josef
Directed by: Jared Moshe
Rating: R
Genre: Western, Action, Drama
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Lefty Brown (Bill Pullman) is no hero, but he reluctantly sets out to seek vengeance after his employer is murdered.

Review:

Tim: One of the most unique aspects of The Ballad of Lefty Brown is that the movie is really centered around a supporting character. In any typical western, Lefty Brown is the sidekick- he's not especially intelligent or brave. He'd accompany the hero on his adventures. Here, Lefty is reluctantly throw into the spotlight. It makes for an interesting story and writer/director Jared Moshe does enough here to hold our attention. I very much enjoyed the film.

The movie is immensely helped by a strong cast, although the film doesn't contain the biggest names. No matter, each actor shows up and delivers a strong performance. I've been a big fan of Bill Pullman for many, many years (easily over a decade). While you can on occasion fault his acting, he still tends to deliver more often than not. This is easily one of his best performances. It feels like a really strong supporting performance, yet he's the lead. Pullman makes you care about Lefty, even when you're angry or disappointed in him. He feels like a real person, flaws and all. That's one of the great strengths of the film. I loved the supporting performance by Tommy Flanagan. He's an underrated actor and he delivers an effective performance here. I had fun watching him on screen. I loved seeing Peter Fonda, but I desperately wished he had more screen time. I like Jim Caviezel, but I only thought his performance here was decent. He plays his character well enough, but it felt a little stiff and one-note to me. It's ultimately one of the most forgettable performances of the film. I can't say I loved Kathy Baker, either. She was fine, but I kind of shrugged my shoulders at her presence. Diego Josef gave a remarkable performance for a young actor. He held his own against some very experienced talent and I left the movie so impressed with his performance.

I really enjoyed most of this movie, although it feels like it loses a little steam before the climax. The beginning is strong as we get to know the characters and see some unexpected events. The film becomes a hunt for revenge and there's some exceptional sequences there. I felt like the middle of the movie was the strongest aspect, which you don't always see. It was great fun seeing these characters come together and try to figure each other out. Most of my favorite moments happened in the middle of the film. The movie loses some momentum as it heads towards the end- the characters are split up and I started to lose a bit of interest. Luckily, it all gets pulled back together for a fairly satisfying conclusion.

The movie features solid cinematography, although I'm not sure if I ever felt a sense of awe in what I saw. There are so many beautiful Westerns, I wouldn't include this one near the top. Still, that wasn't a requirement here. This movie never tries to be an epic film- it's perfectly content telling a smaller, more self-contained story. That is part of its appeal, its charm.

We don't get enough Westerns these days, so The Ballad of Lefty Brown was a pleasant surprise. It was an effective, different films. There's been so many Westerns throughout the history of film, it's always fun to see one that subverts expectations and does something unique. I found this movie quite entertaining and very well made.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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