Sweetwater

SWEETWATER is a nicely-done noirish parody of the old spaghetti western. Plot-wise, it's rather predictable, without many big surprises, but it keeps your attention and incorporates steady humor without turning into a complete slapstick joke. Best of all are the very colorful cast of characters: Crazy charlatan cult leader; beautiful, now-married former prostitute who's out to settle down and lead a quiet, simple life; unstable yet nobly maverick sheriff; perverted clothier; and a whole bunch of sheep who contribute a great deal to the story (really, they do).

Intelligently simple entertainment--nothing to be taken too seriously. Great performances by Ed Harris (sheriff) and January Jones (former prostitute).

The plot: A psychotic preacher goes too far when he begins indiscriminately murdering innocent people. A manic sheriff and gun-toting ex-prostitute team up to stop him and his followers.

I liked this film, but it's really quite shallow. If you can enjoy a minimalist, high-concept revenge thriller, this is actually pretty enjoyable. Just don't look for anything more than violent action scenes, despicable villains, and violent anti-heroes who would make Clint Eastwood proud.

As I expected, Ed Harris is the highlight of this film. His crazy sheriff is unpredictable, darkly humorous, and fun. The little bits of back story that we were fed make him intriguing, but it's a bit unfortunate that they never capitalized on any of it. I thought that maybe there'd be plot twists and complicated alliances, like a Sergio Leone film, but I guess this isn't that kind of film. No, it's basically a beat-em-up video game where the hero kills all the villain's henchmen and then does a boss fight.

There are quite a few postmodern touches to the film that may annoy old-school Western fans. For one thing, this a modern revenge thriller that's been transposed into a Western setting. As such, I don't think this was really meant to appeal to fans of classic Westerns. Instead, it's going for the Quentin Tarantino crowd, though it could have used more style and quotable dialog. For a poor man's QT film, this is not bad, but I'd recommend the real thing instead.

when you watched this film. there were many gibberish mambo-jumbo religious crappy monologue or crazy enough talk-to-himself murmurings. and the directing was also quite weird as the film itself. there was an usual cunning vicious and violent religious bully who thought all the vast land was his lord and his own property. he committed murder after murder under the name and excuse of the lord and at the same time whenever he reached the climax when he screwed his female followers, he also praised the lord for his ultimate pleasure(guess why all the men and women would cry out in unison 'oh, my god, oh my god' is indeed a Christian mantra during intercourse or love-making?)

this is a very weird movie, an out-of-the-box very unconventional western, at times funny and ruthless, sometimes clueless and ridiculous. but what made this film above the cheap low budget western genre B movies was 1) most of the actors did great jobs and performed so well that didn't give you a cheap feeling of the average tasteless low budget and disgusting modern day western B movies; 2) the great cinematography of the camera, the wide angle wildness of the landscape, the beautiful light setting control. just by watching the glamorous camera works would worth the money and earned at least 8 stars; 3) although the screenplay was a bit over the top ridiculous, but still quite watchable, good enough to anchor your fat buttocks firmly on the seat to the end. again, a weird mindless clueless absurdity sometimes is not a bad idea.

"The Lord does not believe in actions without consequences." The New Mexico territory in the late 1800's is full of danger. When Sarah, a young wife (Jones) encounters the local preacher (Isaacs) and a sheriff (Harris) who isn't totally sane. When she refuses the preacher's advances her life is forever changed. Now with the help of the sheriff she sets out for revenge, and you know what they say about a woman scorned. I am a huge Ed Harris fan and I like westerns but lately the genre has been in a huge nose dive so I wasn't sure what to expect from this. This is easily one of the better ones that have come out lately but it is still a little slow moving. 90% of the reason this is good is the cast. Harris is good in everything, Isaacs is the most disturbing preacher since Michael Parks played one in Red State. The gem of the movie though is January Jones. For once she isn't just the eye candy of the movie, she actually has a needed part and the fact that it is her that loses it and goes on a killing spree makes it that much more interesting. If you are a western fan this is one to watch. Don't expect something like Open Range though, this is more like Appaloosa or 3:10 To Yuma or for you real movie fiends out there, if you liked Seraphim Falls you will like this. Overall, started off slow but really picked up and by the end you are glad you watched it. One of the better westerns in the last few years. I give it a B.

This western is good because it has simple details of everyday menial experiences brought into magnified observation like the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarentino incorporate into their films that people personally identify with. Very good writing and directing. The character behavior is realistic for the period with a unique cast of established actors that have a track record of rolls in unusual movies similar to No Country for Old Men. January Jones, Ed Harris, and Mr. Root, the judge, from Justified, add the quirky features you will find worth your time. This is a no-nonsense simple story of detective work with refreshing deviance from stupid Hollywood fare.