Movie Review – Last Rites of Ransom Pride
Last Rites of Ransom Pride, written by Ray Wylie Hubbard, and starring Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson, and Lizzy Caplan, is like a Cormac McCarthy novel set to life: brilliant characterization in by-gone, almost mythical settings. This is not a heavily thematic movie, but there is enough plot and artistic attention that you do not walk away feeling like you indulged a guilty pleasure.
It is a dark, gothic-feeling Western, almost like an adaptation of a graphic novel, where a couple of steps in one direction could have made it outright fantasy. It is set in the dry and harsh Texas-Mexico borderland (though the film was mostly shot in Alberta), in the era when mechanization was beginning to take over mustangs as transport.
The movie follows the attractive Juliette Flowers as she treks to Mexico to bring back the body of Ransom Pride and carry out his final wishes to be buried next to his mother. She is pursued by Dwight’s drunken priest character and father of Ransom named Reverend Pride, along with bounty hunters hired out from Kristofferson’s character, Shepherd Graves. Flowers takes Reverend Pride’s other son Champ along as an exchange for Ransom’s body, which is being held by a creepily-deformed gypsy-like woman in Mexico named Bruja.
Along the way Juliette’s eyeliner never smears despite numerous fights and shootouts, and they encounter a wide array of characters, including an asthmatic motorcycle-driving buffalo soldier, opium addicted Siamese twins, and a midget with double-barreled shotguns permanently affixed in each hand and eyeliner of his own. The costumes are brilliant and spared no expense, though this is where it became almost fantasy, like a Mexican Mad Max. Interactions with these characters offered gems in the dialogue, and helped create wrinkles in the story that started out quite transparent, but eventually sucks you in just fine.
There’s no good guys in this movie, only bad guys and other bad guys on different sides. The 93 minutes goes by quick. Though the characters are rich and well acted enough that you believe in them, the relationships between them could have used some fleshing out. For example, Yoakam’s and Kristofferson’s characters are portrayed as former confederate soldier buddies, but their interaction is so limited, it is hard to appreciate their relationship. However Yoakam does an excellent job exploring the dichotomy between being a gory drunk and a God peddler.
Everybody is trying to either kill Juliet Flowers, or seems to be eager to kill for her, as her bust remains just one lose button away from stealing the show. The numerous occurrences when people are in a killing posture, but stop to wax longingly to their victim while someone sneaks up from behind to foil them grew a little tiresome, but did its job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. The movie ends when there is nobody left to kill.
The cinematography is spectacular, with the whole film existing in this sepia-like filter that sets the mood perfectly without being obtrusive or effecting the crispness of the images. Imaginative tape editing creates suspense, and the landscapes and structures in the film at times are breathtaking. It is almost like a living, wide format picture book. There are moments you wish you could push pause to just marvel and the images they created, and their use of light and color.
I’m not smelling any Oscars, but this film is worth seeing for country fans and the general audience alike, if only for the brilliant sets, and top-notch cinematography and tape editing.
3 1/2 of 5 stars.
Check for screenings in your area, or requests Last Rites to come to your town.
September 22, 2010 @ 10:25 am
Sounds pretty sweet, lookin forward to seeing it.
September 22, 2010 @ 11:38 am
Im with you on this.
September 22, 2010 @ 11:02 am
I’m really surprised at the lack of interest in this movie. It’s got big names, and is well made. When I went to see it, there were only two other people in the theater. The guy working the counter said they showed it the night before, and nobody showed up. I keep seeing this time and time again. Big time movies that can’t get distribution. Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is another one. It’s not like these are super low budget indie films with no name actors or backers.
September 22, 2010 @ 11:12 am
That’s disappointing to hear. If no one sees it on this limited theatrical release, those of us in the smaller markets won’t get a chance to see it for a while.
September 22, 2010 @ 12:26 pm
That’s cause neither of those movies are a remake of a horror film.
September 22, 2010 @ 12:35 pm
…or an 80’s TV show.
September 22, 2010 @ 11:47 am
God damn it, it doesn’t get to Calgary until Oct 2.
September 22, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
At least its getting there. A lot of places probably don’t have a shot.
September 22, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
True enough. Patience just isn’t my strong suit.
September 22, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Must be missing vampires… Looking forward to seeing it.
September 22, 2010 @ 1:44 pm
There is a random boob or two. “Tasteful” is how I would describe the brief nudity.
Kristofferson plays a brothel owner, so it was hard to avoid it.
September 24, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
Not surprised to hear that – Lizzy Caplan had a role in HBO’s True Blood and spent quite a bit of time with her funbags out! The trailer is pretty average but your review is great, definitely one I will check out when it opens here. I love movies with Opium addled siamese twins!
I hope you get a chance to check out ‘The Killer Inside Me’ at some point too. Apparently it got a limited US theatrical release on 25 July 2010. Casey Affleck plays a small town Texan sheriff with erm ‘issues’ shall we say. The soundtrack is stellar, full of old school country and blues on it. I’d love to get my hands on it but can’t find any details on it at all, not even on IMDB. The movie is great, albeit ultra violent. Anyhoo, here’s a trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi62391833/
September 22, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
The trailor looks odd. Like old western meets twilight. Sounds like the skill level of the picture making and costumes are high, but I could see this being a bit to strange for most.
Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia…isn’t that distributed nationally via shows like Jerry Springer???
A bit off topic, when is Dwight gonna drop a new album??
September 22, 2010 @ 2:12 pm
trailer…. not trailor. sorry. I have shitty grammer, but that was a type-o.
September 22, 2010 @ 2:15 pm
and you wanna talk about not buying what a songwriter is selling in music….
A chick gunfighter??? come on. This thing looks like a the circus came to town.
September 22, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
It’s pretty much Jim Rose with guns and horses. I enjoyed it though.
September 22, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
I’m pretty sure he said he’s got a new album of originals coming in the next year or so…not sure though. I love me some DY. He put on a hell of a show way up in extreme northern Minnesota earlier this month. He seems to love playing the rural casinos.
September 22, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
Duluke, you up in MN? I heard about that show there, but it was over Labor Day Wknd. I saw him a 4-5 years ago in Minneapolis. Hope your right about a new album coming.
September 23, 2010 @ 6:10 am
Yeah, he played an outdoor show at a casino on the northern outskirts of the Iron Range. At first security wouldn’t even let anyone stand up and dance, but Yoakam stopped in the middle of a song to yell at them and the crowd went nuts. After that it was an awesome experience. I think security was temporary Iron Range help, and there’s nothing stranger than a ranger.
September 22, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
Cant wait to see this flick. And I wish Dwight would put out a new album. I dig me some Dwight.
September 22, 2010 @ 6:23 pm
This looks like an entertaining movie, got it in the qeue.
September 22, 2010 @ 9:06 pm
Another reason it sucks to live in the armpit of Oklahoma (NW OK)…closest looks to be Dallas (6 hour drive). Guess I’ll wait for video.
September 22, 2010 @ 11:37 pm
FUK YEAH! LOOKIN FORWARD TO THIS MOVIE “BIG TIME”! Thanks!
September 22, 2010 @ 11:51 pm
P.fukinS. saw Dwight a few years ago in Columbus, Ohio! He was a little hoarse from a cold and didn’t show for the “MEET AND GREET” passes we got for a wedding present but he still put on a FANfukinTASTC SHOW! Like his acting too…and they never put him on a little …”hoarse”…? ar,ar,ar….nevermind >;)
September 24, 2010 @ 11:09 am
ar, ar, ar 🙂
September 25, 2010 @ 3:50 pm
Damn I doubt this will be coming to the UK
=(
October 23, 2010 @ 1:06 pm
I got it in the dvd player right now!
October 26, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Just noticed last night that this movie is now available for Watch Instantly streaming on Netflix. Gonna try to watch it at work tonight.