Sick Product of a Sick System

Absolutely Fantastic

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

"Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"Michael Winterbottom directs what is in essence a Western version of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. It's Sierra Nevada, California, 1867 and the pioneer town of Kingdom Come is thriving under the strict but effective rule of Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan). Dillon came by way of a gold claim many years earlier by way of a trade, the barter? His wife and child. But now the past is about to catch up with him and Kingdom Come could well turn out to be his burning hell...Right off the bat it has to be said that The Claim is a difficult film to recommend, even to Western movie lovers. It's deliberately slow and purposely elegiac and ethereal. The literary aspects of the narrative positively sparkle, yet still this doesn't make the story any more vibrant, because Winterbottom and screenplay writer Frank Cottrell Boyce want to keep things in perspective. In a film that is awash with untold beauty, the snowy mountainous landscapes (Calgary standing in for California) stunningly photographed by Alwin H. Küchler, it's perpetually cold and bleak, the ice and snow a constant that marries up with characters who are deliberately hard to like.Technically this is one superior piece of work. Küchler and Winterbottom's panoramas are sublime, the town is strikingly designed by the art department, all wooded angles and smoking chimneys that are magnificently framed by the mountains, while the sound-mix thunders the ears and adds another dimension to the grubby realistic feel. Interior sequences are filmed in low lights, making the lamps spectral in sight, the costume design and the narrative strength of the town whorehouse (which is the fulcrum of proceedings) have a class about them that shines bright in the pantheon of modern era produced Westerns, while Michael Nyman's musical score is evocatively strong.The cast respond well to Winterbottom's requirements, Mullan, Wes Bentley, Sarah Polley, Milla Jovovich and Nastassja Kinski (how nice to see the latter twin euro beauties stripped of make up to show a natural era sexiness) all turn in charismatic and heartfelt performances. Narratively the film is driving towards Dillon's day of reckoning, his shoulders heavy with regret and his soul in desperate need of purging. In the interim we are privy to the lives and loves of the townsfolk, their foibles, faults and fancies, this while the town is alive with the arrival of the railroad company, who it is hoped by Dillon will make Kingdom Come prosper still further...Unfair comparisons have been drawn with Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Yes, this is similar in style and execution, but why not just see it as the perfect companion piece to Altman's movie? Because it is. How about we instead look at the finale? Which draws a favourably thematic link to the brilliant Boetticher/Scott Western, Ride Lonesome. When push comes to shove, and in honest terms, The Claim is a film that for sure may be hard to love, but it sure as heck fire is a film that is easy to admire. Western fans should see it because they "will" take something positive from the experience. 8/10

The first thing I couldn't help but notice was the old timey, sepia look that is so common in most of the newer period pieces. I get the mood that's trying to be created; 1800's, no light bulbs, times are tough,, but must it come at the expense of my eyesight. Even the outdoor scenes, which should have been bright enough to make a person snow-blind, where to say the least,,, dark. Please, anyone out there who wants to recreate this effect, at least turn on one 40 watt bulb,, for the sake of my eyes.And once again, close-up, after close-up, after close-up,, flip flop, flip flop, flip flop,,, why is this so popular. Is it a low budget tactic, so they need to rent only one hotel room. One actor comes in for a day, shoots his scenes and the next day another actor does his,, until they run through the entire cast,, then it's all spliced together. Surely this must have been taught in an economics class and not cinema school. I can't be the only person on the planet who gets severe headaches from this strobe effect.Had I not read it here, I would not have known that the first flash-back scene was,,, a flash-back scene. I thought it was just some old guy sitting in the next room. But it was much in line with the rest of the movie,,,, disconnected. The only part of the movie that had any connection at all, was the constant trudging through the snow. It had no meaning and added nothing but it certainly was consistent.In all honesty, I watched only 30 minutes, which should have been plenty of time to,, in the very least,, hint of some sort of plot. Maybe it's me, but I think a plot is somewhat important to the film. If this dog ended like "Bonnie and Clyde", only the projectionist would know, if he happened to be awake. I can't for the life of me figure out how this sleep aid got a 3 outta 4 star rating.Lastly, I've seen every western ever made, an this ain't one. I've seen plenty of horses in Central Park and Belmont. Don't let the horses fool ya. Giddyup............

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this DVD for $4. The cover showed one of those forgettable everybody-stare-at-the-camera-and-try-to-look-cool" images, and the title itself makes it seem like a forgettable pulp novel. "The Claim". Wooooo. The only reason I bought it was because I'm a fan of Natassja Kinski.Well, Natassja didn't really have a leading role; instead the film focused mostly on Peter Mullan as Mr. Dillon, the wealthy, powerful owner of "Kingdom Come", a small but promising town at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Although there are several interesting subplots, the story is about him, and Mullan delivers an excellent performance. He is neither good nor evil but a believable human character who is caught up in his ambition....which leads me to the title of my review. I highly recommend you read the short poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Shelley before watching this film. The film itself uses it briefly in the beginning where a stage performer recites parts of it to an audience. This immediately piqued my interest, since Ozy is one of my favourite poems. As the story progressed, I realized that this injection was not trivial; the film is essentially built on the story of Ozymandias, and once you realize that, you'll be able to focus on the main theme.As I said, there are several sub-themes that are interwoven: Milla Jovovich plays a great role of a singer who's not the "marrying type" (and by the way, she sings some great Portugese songs). Wes Bentley plays a young official for the railroad, sort of a play-by-the-rules boyscout type who is at odds with the subjective rules of the old west. Natassja is a woman slowly dying of consumption and haunted by a bitter past. Sarah Polley is her daughter, innocent and oblivious but learning quickly. They all deliver great performances with my only criticism being their accents which are a little too modern, but if you can overlook that, there's no problem.The director used some unusual techniques which caught my attention. For one thing, when switching to dream sequences, he didn't do the stereotypical sepia tint and harp plucking to announce "hey we're going to a dream sequence". It may confuse you at first, but it keeps you on your toes.This film has a very epic feel to it, perhaps like Sergio Leone's classic "Once Upon a Time in the West", and at just under 2 hours, the length and pacing seem right. But somehow I didn't quite get as much character development as I would've wanted. I suppose that's plain math... if we have 5 main characters, that gives each one only 24 minutes. Less if you consider that the main focus is on Mullan. But perhaps upon repeated viewings, you can get more of a story on each of them.One other criticism I have is that the musical score wasn't very dynamic. It seemed to repeat the same 2 sweeping chords over & over. Then silence. Then back to the same 2 chords. Repeat. But this is a minor criticism, and I doubt you would've even noticed it had I not said anything. Oopsie, sorry bout that. But like I said earlier, Milla's singing provides enough to impress us musically.Overall, it's a good film and a great interpretation of Ozymandias in the Old West (again I urge you to read the poem so you may find the same beauty in the film as I did). Also if you have a Blockbuster near you, check out the used pile where you can find this for $4. Definitely worth the price.

Some of the things that make this a bad movie: I. The movie is confusing, either intentionally (pretentiously) or due to ineptitude.A. A flashback near the beginning of the movie gives no indication that it is a flashback. There's just a shot in which we see people we haven't seen before, without any verbal or stylistic suggestion that this is a scene from the past. The younger actors portraying Dillon and his wife in the flashback bear no resemblance to the actors playing the same roles in the present.B. Although approximately twenty years have elapsed since Dillon sold his wife, he appears to have aged at least thirty years, while she has apparently aged less than ten years. The two actors portraying the woman look so close in age that either of them could have played the part in both the present and the flashbacks. That would have alleviated a small amount of confusion.C. The two unfamiliar actors portraying Dillon and his right-hand man are approximately the same age, have the same build, are the same height, have the same style of gray beard, and wear the same style and color of clothing and hat.II. Much of the plot and the characters' actions seem unmotivated.A. Why does Dillon sell the woman and baby? Near the beginning of the movie, when we see him do this in a flashback, it makes a little more sense. We are led to believe that he has no more attachment to them than to hitch hikers he picked up along his way. His only description of their relationship is that he has "been dragging them across the country," and the woman barely protests. There is little or no emotion or hesitation. It's somewhat believable that he might trade them for gold. But what gives him the right to sell them? Does he own them? Much later in the movie we find out that he and the woman were married and the baby was his. Near the end of the movie, there is a vague implication that he was drunk when he sold them (although there was no hint of it in the flashback). Drunk or not, he must have been pretty angry at both of them for some reason we are never let in on.B. Why does Dillon move his house? It seems to be no more than a gratuitous action scene to give this soporific movie a moment of liveliness (like the pointless explosion of the survey party's supply wagon).C. Why do Dillon and many of the town's men go ballistic when the railroad engineer decides that the tracks can't go through their town? Did the railroad have a contract with them? Did the railroad owe them anything? Dillon and his men were not justified in showing up with rifles and threatening the railroad surveyors.D. Why does Dillon murder two railroad men, and why are there no consequences to him for this brutal, pointless act? There are at least two references to a sheriff in the town, yet he never makes an appearance. No one seems to be upset at all as a result of the murders.III. The actors use accents inconsistently. Both Dillon and Lucy sometimes have accents, and sometimes don't. Dillon, in particular, is ridiculous because at times he has almost no accent and then in the next scene he has a thick brogue that's barely understandable.IV. Anachronistic speech. "You're full of ****!" in 1867? V. Anachronistic hair styles.A. All of the women in the movie, be they prostitutes or not, have stringy, badly groomed hair hanging in their eyes. Try to find a photograph from the 1860s of any woman, anywhere, of any occupation or social class (including prostitutes) with hair like that. Either a studio portrait or a candid shot. You can't.B. Several men of the survey party have long, poorly groomed hair. This is not from the 1860s; it is left over from western movies of the early 1970s.VI. The railroad surveyors are portrayed as semi-literate ruffians. In reality, railroad survey engineers were college-educated, literate men (and real, 19th century college).VII. The railroad survey takes place in deep snow.A. How do they steady their tripods on the snow? B. They are measuring the snow surface, which, in the Sierra Nevada in winter, can be several yards deep. What use would that be? The ground surface would be incorrectly measured, and many prominent topographic features would be overlooked.VIII. The story is set in a mining town, with a large stamp mill next to the hotel and residences where most of the action takes place, yet the mill is obviously never running and the miners seem to spend all of their time carousing and whoring. If this mill had been in use we would have heard it roaring and seen it pouring smoke night and day throughout the movie. Apparently no mining is going on at all. Only the prostitutes are employed.IX. General implausibility.A. A large, wood-framed house is dragged (for no apparent reason) over several hundred yards of ungraded ground, down a hill slope. When it arrives at its destination, no leveling takes place; it's just perfect the way it lands. Dillon, the owner, walks inside and there are no cracks in the walls or broken windows. Even more amazing, the tables and shelves are covered with vases of flowers, decorative pottery, and sculptures that have not tipped over.B. Dillon sets fire to the town with a magic torch. All he has to do is tap any object, be it upholstery, wooden wall, or thick timber framing, and it instantly bursts into fully engulfing flames.In conclusion, the evidence appears to indicate the unfortunate fact that this movie is FULL OF ****!