Review of Seraphim Falls (2007) by David M — 24 Mar 2008

[i][size=4]Seraphim Falls [/i]is the story of Morsman Carver (Liam Neeson) out to hunt down Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) who has done him a great wrong in the past. Set three years after the American Civil War, Neeson and his posse chase Brosnan through the wildernesses of the west until the final showdown.

This is one beautifully shot film. The vast expanses of the wild west are shown in their true beauty and hostility. One cannot view this picture without remarking upon the cinematography, reminiscent of the work of Tonino Delli Colli, the man that shot the Sergio Leone westerns. I must take my hat off to the Director of Photography, John Toll, who did a truly sterling job. We feel considerable empathy for both our main characters and their motives are unravelled by the end of the picture. The Irish pair of Brosnan and Neeson do a magnificent job that doesn?t let the cinematography down.

This really is the best western I?ve seen in a long time. I have to say that this is really one of the best I?ve seen. It isn?t quite an Eastwood/Leone picture but it gets damn close. In fact, I prefer this to Eastwood?s own [i]Unforgiven[/i]. We feel greater sympathy too for our protagonists than we do for [i]The Man With No Name [/i]who seem a little more vulnerable and real than the grizzled Eastwood.

I highly recommend this picture. It really is a masterpiece of contemporary cinema. I hope that other filmmakers are taking note and raising their standards in western filmmaking. I wonder is this the beginning of a western renaissance? It scores one less than the mind-blowing [i]The Good, the Bad and the Ugly[/i], but it does score the same as the two other brilliant Eastwood/Leone collaborations, [i]A Fistful Of Dollars [/i]and [i]For A Few Dollars More[/i]. It gets a truly worthy 8 out of 10.

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