The Harder They Fall

Ladies and gentlemen, today I’d like to talk about The Harder They Fall, by director Jeymes Samuel, also known as The Bullitts, which is a western theme film, following the events of black outlaws and their respective gangs.

Distributed by Netflix on the 3rd of November 2021, The Harder They Fall follows the Nat Love Gang which is brought back together when rumors of a ruthless outlaw by the name of Rufus Buck is said to have escaped from the police’s clutches.

Aside from its mysterious and cruel beginnings, which only makes sense with the film during the last act, the film keeps true to its western genre with epic introductions to specific characters and slow pacing for a tremendous conclusion.

Like most western movies which are centered on revenge, Nat Love played by Jonathan Majors takes the opportunity to erect his revenge on the outlaw — Rufus Buck played by Idris Elba, who killed his parents in front of him when he was just but a child.

Together with his trusted outlaws in Stagecoach Marie, Jim Beckworth, and Bill Pickett, they plan to take down the infamous Rufus Buck Gang which includes Trudy Smith, Cherokee Bill, and Wiley Escoe.

With a prestige cast such as Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, and LaKeith Lee Stanfield, it was close to impossible for me not to end up watching this year, even though I am a year late lol…

Expect to be blown away by the choice of music in this western, which honestly at first took me by surprise, however, after listening to it and seeing how well it complements the imagery, had me bouncing my head in favor lol…

There is a variety of music genres in this film such as Hip-Hop and Gospel that would normally be ostracized from a Western theme film.

However, when given the choice, you will come to love how well the sound choices are and how well they go hand in hand with what we’re seeing on screen, bringing up a more modern feel to the film.

The Harder They Fall also brings with it an array of interesting characters, for example, Cherokee Bill played by LaKeith Lee Stanfield is said to be the fastest gunslinger around yet he speaks at such a slow, calm pace, contrary to his talent.

Or how about Nat Love played by Jonathan Majors, our lead protagonist? Even though he is an outlaw and should be viewed as someone that should be feared, he shows a great sense of humility and dignity, even towards the fellow white people that he robs.

On that note, I loved the choice of colors that represent each town. You’d expect that for a town owned by black people there would be no color and yet, all sorts of vibrant colors are there to give the town of Redwood City much flavor and presence.

While for a town owned by white people, it was pretty obvious for anyone of color to understand before entering what kind of town this is, the underlining humor in that scene brought tears down my eyes.

With fantastic screenplay and cinematography, the visuals of locations, towns, and particular scenes are wonderful to see, especially moments when the camera pulses closer and closer to a character’s face.

I wish we had received more scenes from Idris Elba’s character during this film but the more I think about it and the ending of this film, the more I’m convinced I am that it was deliberate to not ruin the character and write him off as a sadistic killer before we got to know the truth and meaning for his killing ways.

Overall, don’t judge a book by its cover, The Harder They Fall is a good western revenge story that could have been better with a little more humor.

Each character has a certain trait and depth about them that keeps you tuned to the screen, with a little pacing issue but that doesn’t kill the fun at all.

I’ll rate it as a 6 out of 10.

Let me know in the comments section below what you loved or disliked about The Harder They Fall.

Thanks for reading…