Brimstone

This film tells the story of a woman who cannot speak many years ago in a small town in the United States of America. She endures the many horrors that life has put her through, and it all started because of a priest.

The long runtime put me off watching it for​ a few weeks, but I finally got myself to watch it. I can honestly say that every minute of the film is worth watching, and every minute of the film affected me right to the core. I won't spoil any of the plot, so all I'll say is that. I cannot imagine so much misfortunes can be bestowed upon a person, yet the presentation of this horrid story is so very believable. It feels like I'm watching someone's life up close, and what happens to her makes me sick right to the core, right from the start to the end. The events portrayed are truly horrifying, and I'm still paralysed by Shock and disbelief minutes after watching it. Acting is great by Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce, they make their characters shine. I cannot imagine a monster as sick as this character in the film. I am still having headache and palpitations from the evil character. I honestly can't remember when was the last time I felt so sick because of a film.

Watch this film if you have the chance, but watch it alone and when you feel strong enough for a very depressing emotional challenge.

While Brimstone would register to most, as a Western (and for the most part it is), the horror elements cannot be denied. The gruesome kills and vicious shark-like nature of this movies protagonist, played terrifyingly well, by Guy Pearce, will keep you glued to your screen, even with the long run time of 2hrs plus.

Dakota Fanning is at the top of her game here, in a role that requires her to show, not tell. She and Guy Pearce are the main reasons why Brimstone is as good as it is, while young actress, Emilia Jones, also delivers.

It's a slow burn, so for those with a lack of patience, this movie might seem tedious, but for myself , the performances, the unexpected brutality and the strength and tenaciousness of our heroine Liz, makes Brimstone a must see.

If you enjoyed, Bone Tomahawk, you'll find a lot to like about Brimstone.

Brutal. Harrowing. Unforgiving. Just a few words that come to mind that succinctly describe the experience of watching BRIMSTONE. If you like/don't mind the unsavory and uncompromising in your entertainment you'll probably enjoy this. If you like languidly paced art films, then you'll probably enjoy this. Otherwise, you might lose your patience. The narrative unfolds slowly and methodically, but the payoff is mostly worth the time taken to get there. Aiming to keep this spoiler-free, a brief synopsis is that a new minister (Guy Pearce) comes to a small Western town, and this puts a mute woman (Dakota Fanning) on edge, especially after a miscarriage puts her at odds with her fellow townsfolk. One further important detail is that the film is divided into four chapters, and the first three of these unfold in reverse chronological order. The movie centers around Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce's characters, and the narrative structure allowed the director to withhold key information until the right time. Of course, like many other films with unique narrative devices, remove it and the film wouldn't be nearly as effective. That being said, there's plenty of stuff that goes on in nearly two and a half hours. A little indulgent? Sure, but all of the narrative elements are good enough to not make this much of a deal-breaker. I will say that the pacing, though slow, was steady and I never got bored. Thematically, Martin Koolhoven (the director) was able to use the period setting effectively to portray a world of religious coercion and the lengths men will go to justify oppressing women. Guy Pearce's character was basically evil incarnate, and it was a scarily brilliant performance. Dakota Fanning also did well, certainly better than I've seen out of her before. Kit Harrington also had a small role as a man that Dakota Fanning's character secretly nurses back to health, and who also teaches her a valuable lesson. From the more technical side, I greatly enjoyed the beautiful cinematography, and the haunting score by Tom Holkenborg (aka, JunkieXL). All things considered, this is one of the best films I've seen in a while, Western or not. For some reason, Europeans seem to do a better job nowadays tackling this genre, and BRIMSTONE is no exception. As long as you're a somewhat patient viewer, and not easily offended, I can highly recommend this.

It is interesting to see the shear amount of negative reviews here, while I think this movie portrays a very realistic scenario in a lawless US at that time. It still portrays a realistic scenario in some parts of the world today. Its unrelenting violence and utter hopelessness reminds me a lot of a famous novel by Kosinski: the painted bird.

If you came here to see your typical 100 in a dozen Hollywood happy ending movies, better move on to something different. Seriously. This movie will make you sad, hopeless and angry at the same time.

If you want to descent into the dark part of human-kind, here on full display in all its naked ugliness, go see it. It's masterful in my opinion.

Outstanding performance of all actors. Difficult, authentic scenes of very high quality. Movie has very dark story for strong stomach. I almost wasn't able to see it whole. I need a beer, before bed.