End of the Rope

The last 20 seconds of the ending film credits tells it all, it is a work of fiction. Sadly, I was really looking forward to this film, as I read the book, but I was really disappointed for many reasons. Both sides of my family for 3 generations lived in the Watford City, ND area, and many generations of both sides of my family are buried in the Schafer Cemetery. I grew-up hearing about the brutal Bannon crimes committed on the Haven family farm, who are also buried in the Schafer Cemetery. The film is entirely too long and slow. The invented fire backstory was fiction, and only made Bannon seem sympathetic, which historically he was not! Charles Bannon, by my relatives firsthand accounts, was a greedy, ruthless murderer of men, women, and children. The code of silence from the lynching in and around Schafer and Watford City, North Dakota persists until today, almost 93 years later. My grandfather showed me photos of Bannon in a Watford City museum when I was young, and he appeared to be the embodiment of evil. Conversely, the actor in this film looked like an alter boy. This film was a REAL missed opportunity to tell a truly tragic history, and while laws were broken, justice prevailed. Hopefully, someday, there will be a more historically accurate and chilling 'reboot' of this film and story.

It'd be curious that a journalist who covered the case in person at the time was entirely written out of this 'based on a true story' film (they have one guy show up with a camera and he gets shooed off right away - twice, and speaks no lines.), except that this is, at the least, a half-fictionalized account. Meanwhile, it spends a languorous amount of time showing a mob gin itself up with hate-rage inside a church.

There are also no historical facts recorded that 22-yr-old Bannon burned down a family home with three children in it. None. This is adding an extra justification for the hanging that never existed.

The pacing is somewhat uneven, with a few needless stretches of filler content. That stuff could've been replaced by scenes depicting the murdered family members' characters instead. But nope, the victims are totally invisible in this. Any of the action and drama that lead to the crimes being committed is also left out. Was this done out of respect or neglect?

So, it's rather poorly written, and has silly dialogue at times. And, while it's hardly unlikely to have occurred, it just seems ridiculous to hand out badges and guns for a manhunt to what are clearly depicted as a bunch of unruly townie hotheads. One of the actors in the posse couldn't even ride a horse right during the chase scenes.

Also, are they kidding?: The sheriff hands the prisoner a sliced open can with the jagged lid still on it?! Suicidal/homicidal opportunities much? I mean, yeah, they totally didn't protect the accused while in jail IRL, which lead to his death instead of a trial, but Come On!

Sadly, the production overall just isn't very good. It's noticeably amateurish on many levels, but most markedly in the script, direction, and the acting. Chris Bylsma as state attorney Sam Taylor, and Joseph Bezenek as the town's alcoholic, sexist crap-stirrer, Jarvis, give noticeably uneven performances that are less than believable throughout. Joseph Gray is quite good when not directed to be overly stone-faced, anguished, or aggressive.

I can't get over all the movies lately where the music is so loud. This movie the music is louder than the people talking as though it's some kind of musical and the dialogue isn't important! It's a historical account, can the music already! I read the information about the movie on Wikipedia. I was really hoping to get an accurate depiction of the course of events. Once again, though, the music is too loud! Why do the movies always have to do that? I would have given this movie a better review except for that major distraction. It's quite sad about this history of this town and how tempers flare.

Direction, character design, and overall performances were solid.

The villain stood out with a commendable performance, and I genuinely wished the film had placed greater emphasis on his role especially his dialogue and confrontation scenes with the protagonist.

The direction, music, and visual design were also strong, and the plot itself felt grounded and believable.

However, the film lacked soul and emotional depth from the supporting cast. It also suffered from a lack of dynamic secondary characters that could have added variety and complexity.

Ultimately, I feel disappointed, as this was a missed opportunity to create something truly exceptional, given how many strong elements were already in place.

What could've been a decent movie based on a true event was just a torturous watch, I don't know if my ears will recover. I should've turned it off but, a true story always gets me. Especially since it was "western" type. While the acting, story, set, etc. Was decent, the sound (music) was way overdone and too loud. While I appreciate a good soundtrack & score, this was just the pits. Score was decent, volume was extremely overbearing. Mumbling actors, low volume voices, and a score that covered it all up. Too bad subtitles weren't available. The buildup in the beginning was stretched beyond its need to get to the point of the sullen, despaired sheriff. Any scene meant to draw out emotion, empathy or feeling for the characters/situation was for naught due to the loudness of the music. Whoever did the audio should be ashamed and probably needs to find a new career. Whoever made this movie can thank the audio team for ruining your movie.

Only watch it you have subtitles available and can tune a decent score down unfortunately.