THE HARDER THEY FALL: A THRILLING BUT VIOLENT TALE ABOUT THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

The Harder They Fall is an American Western Film directed by Jeymes Samuel (in his feature directorial debut), co-written by Samuel with Boaz Yakin. It stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. The characters in the film are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the nineteenth-century American West.

The Harder They Fall premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2021. It received a limited release on October 22, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 3. The film received generally positive reviews for its ensemble cast as well as Samuel's direction and score. It currently holds a more than respectable 88% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on just 197 critic reviews), with an even higher Audience Score of 93%, even though that score is based on only approximately 50 verified audience ratings. It has a 68 on Metacritic, based on 41 critic reviews, with a User Score of 6.5, but it only holds a 6.6/10 on IMDb, with 68,000 reviews.

A modern take on the spaghetti western with a Blaxploitation flare, The Harder They Fall is so much fun to watch. The really interesting thing about this film, creatively speaking, is that it took real people from American history, and changed their stories, to the dismay of some, but I thought the decision helped to create something that feels fresh and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. The story is one that pulls you in almost immediately, darting quickly out of the gate with a double murder and maiming of a child by a strange man, adding a bit of mystery to this action drama, all within the first five minutes of the film. And the story doesn’t let up for the entirety of the rest of the 134 minutes of runtime that follows.

The cast was brilliantly selected and the performances by that cast are truly stellar throughout, with the bright spot for me, being Regina King’s apple peeling monologue. And speaking of the words, the writing is very good, and it’s particularly effective in paying homage to the genre while also feeling current all at the same time. The cinematography has an edge to it, and you can clearly see influences from both Tarantino and Spike Lee in the execution, with the fight choreography in the scene between “Stagecoach Mary” and “Treacherous Trudie” feeling like it was ripped right from one of the Kill Bill movies. The music that makes up the film’s soundtrack drives the story forward and adds a contemporary feel to this tale about the old west, right up until one of the better twists I’ve seen in quite some time, before it ultimately concludes the same way it began.

I really can’t say enough about this movie. There wasn’t a single element that I can think of that wasn’t executed at a level that I found to be better than good. It’s a story about how what goes around tends to come back around again; one that speaks rather persuasively about the perils of revenge. I think the filmmaker does a very good job of driving that point home in the climactic gunfight between the rival gangs and the ultimate confrontation between the two gang leaders.

And as I admit that Tarantino is by far my favorite film director, Spike Lee isn’t too far behind, and I must say that Jeymes Samuel, in his first go around, managed to create a film with a voice that rivals the likes of “Chi-Raq” and even “Do The Right Thing”, a provocative western with a modern twist that can stand next to “Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight” without question. And though it may be premature to add Samuel to my “Top Ten” list of film directors, with his introductory effort, he has certainly announced his arrival to the party, and it’s more than clear that he deserves all of our attention from this point on.

The Harder They Fall can be seen exclusively on Netflix with a subscription.