A RECKONING

Film Review by Fiore

As Westerns go, A RECKONING holds more promise than it delivers.  A simple tale about a woman who seeks revenge after her husband is brutally murdered, it often struggles to reach its 80 minute length.  There are extensive scenery shots, which are spectacular, by Director of Photography Justin Janovitz.  When teamed with the haunting score of Jared Forman, they make for the equivalent of audio-visual New Age meditation rooms.   There are many of them, simply because Editor Mike Tang had about 62 minutes of plot footage.

It’s not that the script by Justin Lee, who also directed the film, is weak.  It’s a fairly standard revenge script that encompasses the treasured Woman Warrior Agenda, the latest sacrament in Tinseltown.  The lead character is not a 90 pound woman who has viewed a few of Billy Blanks Tai-Bo tapes, and can now toss around grown men with ease.  No, Mary O’Malley, played by June Dietrich, is a woman devasted by the brutal murder of her husband and is tired of the platitudes handed out by village leader Lance Henriksen.  Spurred by the village matriarch played by Meg Foster, Mary packs traveling essentials, a rifle and pistol in search of the murderer with her own brand of justice.

It’s easy to see why the killer has escaped capture.  The bounty hunters hired by the townsfolk fight amongst themselves while on the trail, each wanting the bounty.  The hunt becomes so competitive, even the sheriffs are in danger from the greedy men. 

Into this foray comes Mary.  Most of the men are chivalrous enough not to kill her.  So, it’s not too surprising when she finally manages to find the killer in his lair.  

Normally, the killer’s motives, always explained in the final reel, are done through dialogue.  Lee, however, has his killer, played by Kevin Mahely, who played the hero in last month’s BIG LEGEND,  screaming a tribal rant outside of his cave.  He is apparently the original environmentalist, convinced that only he can bring balance back to Mother Earth.   It’s an odd choice, not fitting the norm, and giving a surreal aspect to the scene.  

There are other holes in the tale.  For example:  when Mary catches up with the bounty hunter who stole her horse and bests him, why doesn’t she get her horse back, rather than continuing on foot?

A RECKONING isn’t a bad film, it’s just poorly paced.  Papa Octopus is the epitome of an Independent film studio.  It has a cache of stars who double behind the camera as well and they manage to snag a top name actor or two for their productions to provide a bit of gravitas.  While this outing isn’t as strong as BIG LEGEND, it’s nice to see the studio taking its best shot.

Once again, Papa Octopus will distribute through Vega Baby, releasing A RECKONING on this weekend on both VOD and home video.