DVD Review - Seraphim Falls

Seraphim Falls is an interesting revenge western that doesn't always work. However, even though it is uneven it so worth checking out.

David Van Ancken directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Abby Everett Jacques. Van Ancken is a first time director and it shows a bit. The film (and screenplay) could have been tightened. The film is slow moving and you really have to stick with it. I don't mind films that take time to unfold but I think that Seraphim Falls would have been better served if it was trimmed.

The story takes place three years after the Civil War. Former Confederate Col. Moreman Carver (Liam Neeson) hires several men to join him as he hunts for and ex Union officer named Gideon (Pierce Brosnan). Carver is hell bent on finding Gideon and bringing him to justice for something he did during the war. But Gideon also has something terrible happen to him as well.

Both Neeson and Brosnan are great in their roles (they are both Irishmen playing Americans).
The cinematography by John Toll is breathtaking. Most of the time the story is interesting. We do get a heavy dose of symbolism at the end. One example is Angelica Houston's character who happens to be a snake oil saleswoman. And the ending is very strange.

But when all is said and done I think that Seraphim Falls is an anti war movie. All you have to do is see what war has done to these two men and you will understand why.