'Jane Got A Gun' A Review

Jane Got A Gun is the long-in-production western about Jane(Natalie Portman) making a stand against the Bishop Boys gang in 1871 New Mexico. The film opens with Jane making bread in her New Mexico homestead with her daughter playing in the yard. Her husband Bill(Noah Emmerich) is seen on the horizon but as he approaches slumps on his horse unconscious. Bill, severely injured from gunshot wounds, tells Jane the Bishops are coming. Jane leaves her daughter at a friends and goes to seek help from her former fiance Dan(Joel Edgerton). He agrees and as the two set about fortifying the homestead for the eventual confrontation flashbacks reveal their stories.

Portman as the titular lead does a decent job but she has to work against the less than ideal break-neck pacing as well as some illogical plot details, although she is strong the characterization might benefit from a bit more use of the eponymous gun. Emmerich is good as he always is, one of Hollywood's go-to "that guy" supporting actors. Edgerton puts in the best performance, the most fully formed and compelling, mostly because his character has the clearest and rudimentary motivations. Ewan McGregor as John Bishop is oddly delicious as the villain, maybe because he never gets to play bad guys or some combination of flat nondescript american accent, poorly dyed black hair, and unintentional ambiguity give the performance a bizarre uniqueness that makes it rise above the convention that is its context.

The biggest issue with Jane Got A Gun is simply its lack of ambition. Everything is very by-the-book including the dramatic score and shots of Portman riding a horse at sunset. All the narrative information is interesting but the way it is stitched together makes it feel as if whole swatches have been lost, the story moves inexorably forward frequently sacrificing coherence or emotional logic in order to simply hit the important plot points and get to the end as quickly as possible. The flashbacks only serve to distract from the story and deflate the tension building up between the characters in the present. Although there is some pertinent information much of the content of the flashbacks could be conveyed by simple implication or expositional dialogue.

Not wholly success, not wholly failure.

Rent It.