OUTLAWS AND ANGELS
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

[Warnings: This review contains spoilers. Also, the film has
sexual content.]

CAPSULE: A gang of outlaws robs a bank and holes up
in an isolated house on the prairie. The family
tensions, seemingly small at first, boil over with
really unexpected results. Most of the frontier
atmosphere feels authentic until it doesn't. And then
several things go strange. This is really not a
traditional Western. This is a playful film that takes
chances, not all of which pay off well. J. T. Mollner
writes and directs. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

There is a 1963 Italian horror film entitled "WHAT!". The
implication of the title is that there is a plot twist that will
leave the viewer truly boggled. Sadly the film did not have that
power, and it seemed to me unlikely that any film could deserve
that title. With OUTLAWS AND ANGELS it finally happened. I cannot
speak for the viewer but OUTLAWS AND ANGELS has some of the most
startling plot twists of any film I have ever seen. It takes a
long time to get to the surprises--much too long for the film's
good--but once you are there the whole film twists in plot, style,
and tone. Up to that moment one wondered what exact mind games
were the characters playing with each other. But when things
change the question is what mind games the director is playing with
the viewer.

It is 1887 in Cuchillo, New Mexico. Five desperadoes have robbed
the bank in town. One is killed in the getaway, and another dies
shortly thereafter as the gang is ready to murder anyone in their
way. They ride off with two bounty hunters in what would be called
"lukewarm" pursuit--no pun intended by the main bounty hunter is
played by a strangely cast Luke Wilson. Out on the trail the
robbers see an isolated house, the home of a dysfunctional family
of four. The outlaws decide to hole up and rest in the house. The
family is recovering alcoholic George (Ben Browder), his wife Ada
(Teri Polo) and their two bickering daughters, Charlotte (Madisen
Beaty) and fifteen-year-old Flo (Francesca Eastwood, daughter of
Clint). Flo takes an immediate interest in wanting to understand
them and perhaps learning something useful to save her family.
This part of the story drags a bit as writer and director
J. T. Mollner lets some sequences over-extend on with little
happening. Tensions rise as the story moves to a reckoning.

There are several problems with ANGELS AND OUTLAWS. One problem is
just the makeup for the actors. It probably is intended to make
them look sweaty, but instead the effect is to make them glossy--so
glossy that they seem to reflect the studio lights and the
reflections become a distraction. Lines of dialog are lost in
indistinct enunciation made harder by accent. Well into the film
there is a clothing anachronism that contradicts the plot and
characterization. The film is short on film rather than digital
and some of cinematographer Matthew Irving's outdoor vistas are
beautiful and what you see a Western for. However, most of the
story takes place in-doors, most of that in one room. There is
little use of the wide-screen.

This film takes some truly unexpected turns and does much
unexpected. It is mediocre as a western film, but it is more a
game between the filmmakers and the viewers. I rate OUTLAWS AND
ANGELS a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10. It goes into a limited
release on July 15.

Film Credits:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3491962/combined>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/outlaws_and_angels/>


Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 2016 Mark R. Leeper

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