Seraphim Falls (2007)

The last movie I watched was the beautifully shot western Seraphim Falls, starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. Set after the Civil War, it’s a cat and mouse chase across country as Brosnan’s beardy, grizzled Gideon is tracked down by Neeson’s Colonel Carver, who has revenge on his mind, and a band of mercenaries in his employ to help him.

Like Summer Magic, this movie doesn’t have a vast amount of plot. It’s a chase movie, and that’s about it, but there is a central mystery concerning why exactly Carver is determined to track and kill Gideon himself. When the answer is revealed late in the movie it didn’t make a whole deal of sense to me, and the characters aren’t fleshed out through much dialogue.

The joy of this movie is in the locations. Beginning in the snow-covered mountains, Gideon is chased down river and across various landscapes, and finally across a parched, arid dessert. It all looks absolutely stunning, in contrast to the tramp-look that Brosnan sports, although even then he still has a sexy glint in his eye. It’s a shame there isn’t a bit more substance to the movie – it must be about 20 minutes before Brosnan says anything other than a grunt – as looking pretty is not enough to sustain my interest in a film for nearly 2 hours.

The actors do a believable job in getting across how gruelling and difficult the chase is across the inhospitable landscapes. The ending is a little odd and not particularly satisfying, although the cameo from Anjelica Huston adds some much needed life/fun to proceedings. Seraphim Falls has a pretty title and a stunning location shoot, but the story is too simple, and then too vague to be great, as good as Neeson and Brosnan are.

Oh I just remembered one of the bits that had me groaning aloud! At one point Pierce Brosnan leaps out of a dead horse's belly! Eurgh!