TIFF Gala Presentation: Kiefer and Donald Sutherland share the screen in this brooding western about an embittered gunslinger who attempts to make amends with his estranged father.
In this riveting, bloody, and moving western Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland star as long-estranged father and son attempting to make amends whilst their community is besieged by ruthless land-grabbers.
After years of wandering and making a name for himself as a formidable quick-draw gunfighter, Civil War veteran John Henry Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) quietly returns to his hometown. Weary of his years of violence, John Henry is determined to lay down his guns for good. John Henry’s father, the Reverend William Clayton, resolutely condemns his son’s past and is skeptical of his pledge to reform. “I don’t know if a man can get away from who he is,” says the reverend.
As father and son bear witness to a murderous gang’s appropriation of local properties — including that of John Henry’s long-lost love, Mary Alice (Demi Moore) — John Henry is faced with an onerous existential dilemma. Is it better to turn the other cheek or to use his deadly talents to dispose of the villains — led by powerful landlord and saloon keeper McCurdy (Brian Cox) — who are corrupting the town?
TIFF 2015
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