“Callin’ a man out ain’t a halfway game”
Directed by: William Shockley
Written by: Shelley Reid, William Shockley, Grainger Hines
Cast: Blaine Maye, Sarah Cortez, Dermot Mulroney, Jacqueline Bisset
Swift shot: Long Shadows is not your typical Western. Oh sure, it’s got a man who was done wrong seeking revenge, but there is more to this story. And having Jacqueline Bisset play a villain was an interesting casting twist. This movie was some parts Conan the Barbarian, Batman, and even Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. I am a sucker for revenge plots, and apart from its independent film budget constraints, this Western might just surprise you.
Marcus (Gavin Warren) is a young boy who experiences the most horrific tragedy possible, as he sees his mother savaged, his father shot down in front of their house, and he miraculously survives to be raised in a Catholic orphanage.
We don’t see much of that upbringing, but he does befriend another boy there, Berto (Ryder Franco), and they are both looked after by a caring nun, Sister Luisa Cabrini (Nancy La Scala). Once Marcus (Maye) “ages out” of the orphanage he is given some money to start his new life, proper. On his way to buy a horse, he makes the acquaintance of a slimy weasel of a character named Ned, played aptly by Dominic Monaghan.
Ned works for Vivian (Bisset), the owner and madam of the Purgatory Saloon, where she lures unsuspecting and naive girls to work off their debt with their bodies. Some of the women are more accommodating than others. And when we first meet Dulce Flores (Cortez) she has just endured a beating from Vivian for refusing to accept her fate as a prostitute. See, Vivian hired Dulce on to play piano, but soon that wasn’t ideal for her bottom line, naturally.
Meanwhile, Marcus has just entered the Saloon and needs a place for a few days and to buy a horse. While he waits, Vivian decides to break in her new girl on this orphan. Ain’t she caring? Of course neither of them have any experience with the opposite sex, so it is a very awkward choice . . . and encounter. But, it is clear from the start there is a spark between them. Marcus would do anything to help Dulce. And this is where things start to move along, as Marcus helps Dulce escape.
Marcus quickly delivers Dulce to her estranged sister, and she is safe there, for a time.
Once Marcus arrives back home, he discovers the place has been bought by a mysterious one-eyed stranger going by the name Dallas Garret (Mulroney). And shortly after making his acquaintance he asks Marcus to go into town to fetch some supplies and he hires Marcus on as a ranch hand. While in town, fate intervenes to put Marcus on a new path . . . revenge!
As Marcus metes out frontier justice on those who murdered his family, he is being pursued by Sheriff Tibbs (Hines) who is past his prime and has a soft spot for the kid. I mean, he understands how something that tragic would make any man snap. Tibbs has a deputy, Deac Barnes (David St. Louis) with a pretty cool back story about how the pair met.
You have all the basic elements of a great Western film right there, but Long Shadows does something special that I won’t ruin here. You’ll just have to watch it and see for yourself.
Again, this is a lower budget production, but I can tell effort was put into making artistic choices with some of the shots, and maybe with a little refinement it would get the attention it deserves.
If you are into Westerns, you’ll dig Long Shadows, if you aren’t, there still might be some surprises that are worth a watch.
