Entertainment

‘Die for a Dollar’ Embracing the West 101 (With a Few Nods)


Walter Hill was back in the saddle, courtesy of “Die for a Dollar.”

The action curator behind “The Long Riders,” “Wild Bill,” and “Geronimo: An American Legend” returns to his favorite genre. And he has some serious creative powers at his side, including Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe.

“Death” is not an instant classic. The stakes are too low, and the glitches in the script take some of the tension out of the story. However, the gritty morals behind the story and some slick gunplay from the 80-year-old, make it a solid genre entry.

Waltz plays Max Borlund, a bounty hunter tasked with rescuing a woman from the clutches of a vicious black deserter.

Or so Max is told.

In fact, Rachel (the “Mrs. Maisel” herself, Rachel Brosnahan) has gone on the run with Elijah (Brandon Scott), her former student, to escape her abusive partner.

That doesn’t matter to Max. He has a mission to complete and that’s just what he’s going to do. However, it won’t be easy. His path crosses that of a Mexican tycoon (Benjamin Bratt, cold but in too few scenes) along with an old enemy.

It’s Dafoe as Joe Cribbens, a lifelong criminal whose gun skills are second to none. Dafoe is having a blast without gnawing the scene, a performance that highlights the stern nature of his colleagues.

Hill ensures that this snapshot of the West is clear, even formalized, down to stoic recitations. Even the film’s color palette is reminiscent of the past, with a sepia tone that makes it look as if “Dead for a Dollar” hit theaters in the 1960s rather than today.

If you can’t guess where all this is going, you’ve never seen the West. However, the formula never stops a movie from achieving success. After the pedestrian begins, “Dead” finds its rhythm.

Max’s inner conflict deepens when he learns of Rachel’s plight. And he is similarly torn about Elijah’s fate, knowing that he has the potential to interfere but not without consequences.

Modern filmmaking crept into Hill’s legendary vision. Frontier women can be as brave and powerful as the men of their time. “Terror on the Prairie” expertly proves it.

Brosnahan’s Rachel still feels ripped from the 21st century.

The racial element of the story is also trimmed to not be offensive. Elijah’s race and that of Sergeant Poe (Warren Burke), Max’s accomplice, rarely attract attention.

It’s the color blind world we all aspire to, but in a western era we’ll likely hear a lot of lowly “n-words” abandoned.

Once again, a modern film threatens the accuracy of the period to avoid waking the viewer.

RELATED: WHY BIG BUDGET MOVIES IN THE WEST DIE

NOTE: Hill told the press he did “Die for a Dollar” for modern times.

“I think it should have some modern relevance, so it’s like branching or self-contradictory if you will.”

What’s sadder is that Elijah doesn’t have screen time. He’s an important player here, at least on paper. However, we never knew him. He lacks both screen time and chemistry with Rachel.

Hill’s missteps aside, Hollywood pundits lead us to the third action-packed confrontation we crave. Plus, a mental whip match before the fireworks show that Hill still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The same goes for classic Western yarn.

Hit or miss: Walter Hill’s “Dead for a Dollar” is a powerful, if unremarkable, work in the grand tradition.





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