Review of Brimstone (2016) by Emily S — 01 Dec 2017

The only good thing I can say about this movie is it's probably an accurate depiction of the "Wild West." That is, women were exploited and not defended. Marshall Dillon doesn't ride up and save the day and there is no Miss Kitty, respected business owner. The West is miserable, dirty place full of scoundrels and weak women don't survive. Strong women barely survive. The story is a bleak tale of one director's repressed BDSM fantasies set in the old west.

*****SPOILERS******.

Furthermore, I found the actions of one character to be inconsistent. A man who believes his family belongs to him in the chattel sense is willing to rape his daughter when his wife won't have sex. However, a man like who thinks of his every action with his family as his right, would just rape the wife.

Also, the abuser who uses religion as his excuse is cliché.

"Liz" fears the new preacher and is uncivil for which her husband verbally chastises her. Liz never tells her husband why she fears the new preacher and that her family is in danger. This has tragic consequences for her family.

Its hard to watch this movie as a modern woman because its frustrating to watch this woman never fight back, because she could literally be killed, only to free herself of the evil that haunts her but still not get a happy ending. Ultimately, her only way of fighting against the oppressive patriarchy was suicide. She leaves behind an unprotected daughter whose life will probably be miserable and lead to prostitution.