The Harder They Fall (2021 film)
{{Short description|2021 film by Jeymes Samuel}}
{{For|the 1956 boxing film|The Harder They Fall (1956 film)}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| image = The Harder They Fall (2021 film).jpg
| alt = "Promotional release poster": The silhouettes of a group of four people wearing Western-style clothing. Above their heads, to the top right corner of the poster, is the title in a yellow font: "The Harder They Fall".
| caption = Promotional release poster
| director = Jeymes Samuel
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Lawrence Bender
- Shawn Corey Carter
- James Lassiter
- Jeymes Samuel
}}
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
- Jeymes Samuel
- Boaz Yakin
}}
| story = Jeymes Samuel
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Jonathan Majors
- Idris Elba
- Zazie Beetz
- Regina King
- Delroy Lindo
- Lakeith Stanfield
- RJ Cyler
- Danielle Deadwyler
- Edi Gathegi
- Deon Cole
}}
| music = Jeymes Samuel
| cinematography = Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
| editing = Tom Eagles
| studio = Overbrook Entertainment
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2021|10|6|BFI|2021|10|22|United States}}
| runtime = 139 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| gross = $8,292{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr1454395909/|title=The Harder They Fall |publisher=Box Office Mojo|access-date=December 12, 2021}}
}}
The Harder They Fall is a 2021 American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel (in his feature directorial debut), who co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. It is one of few Westerns whose principal cast members are all Black. Its characters are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the nineteenth-century American West.
The Harder They Fall premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=2021-08-04 |title=Netflix's Star-Studded Western 'The Harder They Fall' to Open London Film Festival |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/london-film-festival-open-western-the-harder-they-fall-1234992525/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} It received a limited release on October 22, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 3.
Plot
Eleven-year-old Nat Love is eating dinner with his parents when Rufus Buck and his associate Cortez arrive. Nat's father begs Buck to spare his wife and son and asks Buck for forgiveness, but Buck shoots and kills both of Nat's parents and then carves a cross into his forehead.
Twenty years later, Love finds and kills Cortez. Meanwhile, his partners, sharpshooter Bill Pickett and quick draw Jim Beckwourth, ambush the Crimson Hood gang and steal their haul from a recent bank robbery. The lone survivor tells them the $25,000 they have stolen belongs to Buck. Love travels to meet his former lover Mary Fields, who runs a chain of saloons. Pickett brings news of the heist to Love.
Buck's gang, led by Trudy Smith and Cherokee Bill, forcefully free Buck from a train leaving from Yuma Territorial Prison. They reveal Buck has been pardoned, and they have been paid to kill the corrupt U.S. Army soldiers guarding the prison car. After slaughtering the soldiers, Buck and his gang arrive in their former stronghold of Redwood City, now run by Buck's associate, Sheriff Wiley Escoe. Learning that Escoe has used the position to profit at the expense of the town, Buck brutally pistol whips him and orders him to leave town. Buck gathers the townspeople and after killing a naysayer, demands that they raise $50,000 to save Redwood, threatening to kill and burn the property of any who resist.
U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves arrests Love after a standoff in a saloon. However, Reeves reveals to Love that Buck has been released, and he offers him a chance for revenge. Love's gang, accompanied by Fields and her friend and enforcer, Cuffee, arrive and insist on joining. They encounter Escoe, who tells them Buck has returned to Redwood. Fields volunteers to scout Redwood under the cover of offering to buy Smith's saloon. Love proposes marriage to Fields, but she turns him down.
When Fields arrives in Redwood, Smith takes her prisoner and beats her. Love's gang arrives, and Love joins Fields in captivity to save her life. Smith has Love beaten, and he in turn asks Buck to release Fields. Buck demands Love return the money he stole plus $10,000 as 'interest', requiring him to rob a bank in a white town. Love and Cuffee rob the bank without killing anyone and escape. However, the group recognizes that Buck is unlikely to release Fields willingly, so they devise a plan to rig a decoy wagon with dynamite.
They enter Redwood and the decoy wagon is destroyed, killing some of Buck's gang. Love prepares to hand over the money, but is interrupted by Cherokee Bill preparing to shoot him in the back. Beckwourth intervenes, challenging Bill to a quick draw showdown. Bill shoots and kills Beckwourth before he can finish counting down, causing a gunfight to erupt. Love, Reeves, Pickett, and Cuffee kill most of Buck's gang, and the money is destroyed in another explosion. Escoe infiltrates Buck's house but is killed by Buck, while Pickett and Love are wounded.
Fields is freed by Cuffee and pursues Smith, who she defeats in a hand-to-hand fight. Pickett is shot in the back by Bill, who is subsequently killed by Cuffee in a quick draw confrontation. Love finds Buck, who is unwilling to defend himself. Buck reveals that they are half-brothers, and that their father was once an abusive outlaw who killed his first wife (Buck's mother) when she tried to protect her son. After leaving Buck, their father eventually repented and married another woman and had Nat. He further indicates that driving Love to outlawry was his true act of revenge against their father. Love reluctantly kills Buck and closes his eyes out of respect.
Love and his companions bury Pickett and Beckwourth, alongside another grave marked "Nat Love" (implied to be the resting place of Rufus Buck), as Reeves states that the law will now consider Nat to be "dead." Cuffee joins Reeves as a deputy. Cuffee and Reeves ride off in one direction and Love and Fields in another. A woman holding a bowler hat looks at them from a distance.
Cast
{{cast list|
- Jonathan Majors as Nat Love
- Chase Dillon as young Nat Love
- Idris Elba as Rufus Buck
- Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary
- Regina King as Trudy Smith
- Delroy Lindo as Bass Reeves
- Lakeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill
- RJ Cyler as Jim Beckwourth
- Danielle Deadwyler as Cuffee. The character was inspired by Cathay Williams.{{Cite magazine |last=Zacharek |first=Stephanie |date=October 6, 2021 |title=The Harder They Fall Fails to Make Enough Room for Each Star Among Its Stellar Cast |url=https://time.com/6104434/the-harder-they-fall-review/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028022831/https://time.com/6104434/the-harder-they-fall-review/ |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |access-date=November 4, 2021 |magazine=Time}}
- Edi Gathegi as Bill Pickett
- Deon Cole as Wiley Escoe. The character refers to a same-named Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Indian Territory during the 1890s. He was of black and Muscogee descent.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Diedre |date=November 23, 2021 |title=True Story: What We Know About The Real-Life People of 'The Harder They Fall' |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/what-we-know-about-the-real-life-people-of-the-harder-they-fall |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=Netflix Tudum}}
- Damon Wayans Jr. as Monroe Grimes
- DeWanda Wise as Eleanor Love, Nat Love’s Mother
- Michael Beach as Nat Love’s Father
- Julio Cesar Cedillo as Cortez
- Mark "Rhino" Smith as Carson{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/netflixs-the-harder-they-fall-review-a-badass-and-bloody-western-that-further-proves-the-star-power-of-jonathan-majors|title=Netflix's The Harder They Fall Review: A Badass And Bloody Western That Further Proves The Star Power Of Jonathan Majors|last=Eisenberg|first=Eric|work=CinemaBlend|date=October 6, 2021|access-date=March 15, 2023}}
}}
Production
The film's original working title was The Notorious Nine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/54592/1/harder-they-fall-western-black-cast-jeymes-samuel-zazie-beetz-interview|title = Harder They Fall's Jeymes Samuel on new westerns and forgoing racist slurs|website=Dazed|first=Nick|last=Chen|date = October 27, 2021}}{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1403270336613694/10154183965747299 |archive-date = 2022-04-30| url = https://facebook.com/TheNotoriousNine/posts/formerly-known-as-the-notorious-ninethe-harder-they-fall/10154183965747299/ |title = The Bullitts on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}} The film was announced in July 2019, when Jonathan Majors was cast to star in it. Musician Jeymes Samuel co-wrote and directed the film.{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=July 24, 2019 |title=Netflix Sets Jonathan Majors For 'The Harder They Fall'; Jeymes Samuel Makes Helming Debut |url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/jonathan-majors-the-harder-they-fall-netflix-jeymes-samuel-jay-z-1202652648/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116213022/https://deadline.com/2019/07/jonathan-majors-the-harder-they-fall-netflix-jeymes-samuel-jay-z-1202652648/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}} Idris Elba would join in November, and Jay-Z, who would produce the film, was announced to be writing original music for the film.{{Cite web |last=N'Duka |first=Amanda |date=November 18, 2019 |title=Idris Elba Joins All-Black Western 'The Harder They Fall' From Producer Jay-Z |url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/idris-elba-jay-z-netflix-western-the-harder-they-fall-1202788930/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806105604/https://deadline.com/2019/11/idris-elba-jay-z-netflix-western-the-harder-they-fall-1202788930/ |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}} By September 2020, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo and Regina King would be among new cast members added to the film.{{Cite web |last=N'Duka |first=Amanda |date=September 11, 2020 |title=Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, Oscar Winner Regina King, More Join Idris Elba & Jonathan Majors In 'The Harder They Fall' Western at Netflix |url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/zazie-beetz-lakeith-stanfield-regina-king-the-harder-they-fall-netflix-1202881190/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101072138/https://deadline.com/2020/09/zazie-beetz-lakeith-stanfield-regina-king-the-harder-they-fall-netflix-1202881190/ |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}
Filming had been scheduled to begin in March 2020 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=March 9, 2020 |title='Stranger Things' Will Shoot in New Mexico For Season 4; Netflix Touts Growing Production Hub – Hot Spots: New Mexico |url=https://deadline.com/2020/03/stranger-things-new-mexico-production-season-4-the-harder-they-fall-hot-spots-1202877427/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309205203/https://deadline.com/2020/03/stranger-things-new-mexico-production-season-4-the-harder-they-fall-hot-spots-1202877427/ |archive-date=March 9, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |last1=Thorne |first1=Will |last2=Aurthur |first2=Kate |date=March 12, 2020 |title=All the Shows and Movies Shut Down or Delayed Because of Coronavirus |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/films-tv-delayed-coronavirus-canceled-1203532033/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314234304/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/films-tv-delayed-coronavirus-canceled-1203532033/ |archive-date=March 14, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Variety}} Cynthia Erivo, Wesley Snipes and Sterling K. Brown, who were initially cast, had to exit due to the delays caused by the pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=September 11, 2020 |title=Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield and Delroy Lindo Cast in Western 'The Harder They Fall' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/regina-king-zazie-beetz-lakeith-stanfield-and-delroy-lindo-cast-in-western-the-harder-they-fall |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129094108/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/regina-king-zazie-beetz-lakeith-stanfield-and-delroy-lindo-cast-in-western-the-harder-they-fall |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}} Filming commenced in September 2020,{{Cite web |last=Kroll |first=Justin |date=September 14, 2020 |title=Johnathan Majors Joins Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lands Major Role in Next 'Ant-Man' Movie |url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/jonathan-majors-ant-man-3-marvel-universe-1203028234/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914165930/https://deadline.com/2020/09/jonathan-majors-ant-man-3-marvel-universe-1203028234/ |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |date=September 25, 2020 |title=New Mexico Film Office Announces 'The Harder They Fall' to Begin Filming in New Mexico |url=https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/non-local-news-releases/60303-new-mexico-film-office-announces-the-harder-they-fall-to-begin-filming-in-new-mexico |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128073129/https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/non-local-news-releases/60303-new-mexico-film-office-announces-the-harder-they-fall-to-begin-filming-in-new-mexico |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Grant County Beat}} but was paused on October 15 after a background actor tested positive for COVID-19.{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=October 17, 2020 |title=Netflix Western 'The Harder They Fall' Stops Production Following Positive COVID Test |url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/idris-elba-netflix-the-harder-they-fall-stops-production-following-positive-covid-test-1234599212/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113172212/https://deadline.com/2020/10/idris-elba-netflix-the-harder-they-fall-stops-production-following-positive-covid-test-1234599212/ |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}
Release
The film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Wiseman |first=Andreas |date=August 4, 2021 |title=London Film Festival To Open With World Premiere Of Netflix Western 'The Harder They Fall' Starring Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/london-film-festival-open-netflix-western-harder-they-fall-idris-elba-regina-king-1234808816/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804110159/https://deadline.com/2021/08/london-film-festival-open-netflix-western-harder-they-fall-idris-elba-regina-king-1234808816/ |archive-date=August 4, 2021 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=August 4, 2021 |title=Netflix's Star-Studded Western 'The Harder They Fall' to Open London Film Festival |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/london-film-festival-open-western-the-harder-they-fall-1234992525/#! |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112140848/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/london-film-festival-open-western-the-harder-they-fall-1234992525/#! |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=Hollywood Reporter}} It also screened at the Montclair Film Festival on October 22, 2021.{{Cite web |last=George |first=Liz |date=September 17, 2021 |title=Montclair Film Festival To Open with Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch |url=https://baristanet.com/2021/09/montclair-film-festival-to-open-with-wes-andersons-the-french-dispatch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917211419/https://baristanet.com/2021/09/montclair-film-festival-to-open-with-wes-andersons-the-french-dispatch/ |archive-date=September 17, 2021 |access-date=September 18, 2021 |website=Baristanet |language=en-US}} It received a limited release on October 22, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on November 3.{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=August 23, 2021 |title=Netflix Dates Fall Movies: A Whopping 42 Movies Coming At You |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/netflix-dates-fall-movies-whopping-42-movies-coming-leonardo-dicaprio-dwayne-johnson-gal-gadot-jennifer-lawrence-benedict-cumberbatch-1234819895/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823173636/https://deadline.com/2021/08/netflix-dates-fall-movies-whopping-42-movies-coming-leonardo-dicaprio-dwayne-johnson-gal-gadot-jennifer-lawrence-benedict-cumberbatch-1234819895/ |archive-date=August 23, 2021 |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=January 12, 2021 |title=Netflix Unveils A 2021 Film Slate With Bigger Volume & Star Wattage; Scott Stuber on the Escalating Film Ambition |url=https://deadline.com/video/netflix-2021-movie-slate/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112140848/https://deadline.com/video/netflix-2021-movie-slate/ |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}
Music
{{Main|The Harder They Fall (soundtrack)}}
An original soundtrack and a film score composed by Jeymes Samuel, were released on October 29, 2021 and January 14, 2022, respectively.
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 181 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It isn't as bold and fearless as its characters, but The Harder They Fall fills its well-worn template with style, energy, and a fantastic cast."{{Cite web|title=The Harder They Fall (2021)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_harder_they_fall|access-date=November 25, 2021|website=Rotten Tomatoes|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104020629/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_harder_they_fall|url-status=live}}{{cbignore}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web|title=The Harder They Fall Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-harder-they-fall|access-date=November 25, 2021|website=Metacritic|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103034921/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-harder-they-fall|url-status=live}}
Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann praised Jeymes Samuel's direction, saying "He has taken the legacy of the American cowboy, a quarter of whom historically were Black, and flipped it into a grand entertainment, so that his point is made with broad appeal. Samuel has collected the fantastical stories of icons like Stagecoach Mary and Rufus Buck, who may never have crossed paths, and translated their spirit through an original, heightened language."https://variety.com/lists/directors-favorite-films-2021-olivia-wilde-george-miller/
Accolades
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|10696784}}
- [https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Harder-They-Fall-Read-The-Screenplay.pdf Official screenplay]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for The Harder They Fall
|list1 =
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Ensemble}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Cast}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harder They Fall (2021 film), The}}
Category:2021 action drama films
Category:2021 directorial debut films
Category:2021 Western (genre) films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:American action drama films
Category:American Western (genre) films
Category:English-language action drama films
Category:Netflix original films
Category:Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Category:Films produced by Lawrence Bender
Category:Films produced by Jay-Z
Category:Films set in the American frontier
Category:Films shot in New Mexico
Category:Films with screenplays by Boaz Yakin