Jane Got a Gun
starring Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Noah Emmerich, Rodrigo Santoro, Boyd Holbrook and Ewan McGregor
screenplay by Brian Duffield, Anthony Tambakis and Joel Edgerton
directed by Gavin O’Connor
Rating: ♦♦♦♦◊
Set in the New Mexico Territory in 1871, Jane is married to Bill “Ham” Hammond (Noel Emmerich). One day her husband comes home shot full of holes with the message that a notorious gang, the Bishop Boys led by John Bishop (Ewan McGregor) would be coming looking for him. Jane seeks the help of a former lover, Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton). The two barricade themselves inside Jane and Bill’s cabin and wait to have a shootout with whoever is pursuing Bill. As a veteran of the Civil War Dan knows about explosives, firearms, tactics and survival, so he booby-traps the cabin and its approaches, and the result is a gloriously violent end for the Bishop Boys.
The costumes are cool. The firearms are cool. I thought the movie was cool. Not as cool as the 2010 re-make of True Grit (starring Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon), but still pretty cool.
I swear I did not recognize Ewan McGregor at all in this film. When I saw his name in the credits I had to go back and watch parts of it again.