Never Grow Old

Well, i just witnessed one of the best & an underrated western thriller of 2019. Cold blooded Murdering act,Greedy selfish act,all was perfectly executed by both Emile & John. Great BGM, Cinematography & Good Direction.

This is a Western with an element of horror.

You can feel the fear of the main character in his dealings with the trio of villains. Many of the scenes happen after dark and the ground is always muddy. Several times we see the people who were killed by the trio having their bodies washed by the undertaker and lowered into a grave.

Not a bad western, a bit different than most. Worth a watch.

This is a grim portrayal of the Old West. The life is hard; so, temptations for spending money and wild times take over the innocents. Abuse and death runs high. There is no comedy here. Enjoy.

This was a bleak movie, yes. Emile Hirsch also had a terrible Irish accent. But despite some of the more obvious gripes about the movie, this one is well worth the watch.

Sure, the whole undertaker thing might be a little on the nose, but I love the lessons in supply and demand: Cusack kills, Hirsch buries, and suddenly the Californian gold rush comes to a nowhere town.

Another interesting dynamic was the shifting power dynamics between the sheriff, the priest, and the outlaw.

In my opinion this film is thoughtful, entertaining, somewhat well-acted, and well worth the invested time.

In a tiny town on the road to California, the villagers live peacefully under the reverend's influence: « no alcohol, no gambling, no wh*re », as god wants us to be, theoretically speaking. The main inhabitants are this narrow-minded preacher (Danny Webb), a disillusioned sheriff (Tim Ahern) and an Irish undertaker (Emile Hirsch) married to a French woman (Déborah François). This village painfully survives until the arrival of Dutch Albert (John Cusack), a sinister man who deliberately seeks to bring chaos in this fragile universe. Why? Well, because he can and this chaos seems also to bring him some indescribable satisfaction. This fellow will even brashly open a decadent establishment with an irreverent signboard « whiskey, billiards, cards & fine ladies » right in front of the reverend's house. Needless to say, this reverend will be quickly overwhelmed by the imminent events.

Ivan Kavanagh managed to recreate a realistic and deeply dark atmosphere thanks to an excellent stage setting and an out-of-the-ordinary sense of detail: the sets, the costumes, a depressing almost-permanent mud, a very neat photography, picturesque landscapes, smoke screens, a discrete but ominous musical environment, ... Moreover, Emile Hirsch, John Cusack and Danny Webb are awesome.

August the 8th, this movie is rated 5,8 of 10. Quite clearly underrated! 7/8 of 10 in my humble opinion.