Review : The Harder They Fall (2021)
I’m not going to lie... when I first saw the announcement that Netflix was releasing The Harder They Fall, I was nervous, specifically because I thought it was an updated version of the Jimmy Cliff classic The Harder They Come. My worries were eased as more information came out about the project, however... news about it being a Western, the immaculate cast and the impressive trailers all had me primed for a work with a potentially high enjoyment factor. I am happy to report that The Harder They Fall more than lives up to the hype, and is wholly worth a percentage of your streaming time.
The Harder They Fall manages to be the kind of Western that speaks to the Rockstar Games generation, particularly fans of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead franchises. This aesthetic is present in the way that the film balances a number of main stories and subplots with surgical precision, playing like a highlight reel of cut scenes minus action that a player can control. All of the stories parallel in the way that they center around three main themes : families formed by shared ideals, the power of reputation and the hunger that comes with revenge. These three themes have always been universally rich with potential, and all are mined to a satisfying degree and spread evenly amongst the main and supporting cast where appropriate, resulting in a story that is both sprawling and tightly interwoven, resulting in a definitive narrative thrust powered by high quality storyline quantities.
On top of these fictional strong points, the film also blurs the lines in regard to the world of historical fiction, using the real life framework of legendary Black outlaws and lawmen as character primer for fictional adventures. With all of these characters supported by real life historical tales rather than in-film exposition, the available space is filled by performances oozing personality, with character moments abound and plentiful for all willing to step to the plate. These historical figures are broken up into two narrative factions : the fictional Nat Love Gang, comprised of young dreamers and romantics aided by the legendary Bass Reeves, and the partially based on real life Rufus Buck Gang, filled to the brim with salty dogs that are rough around the edges due to hard upbringings and harder daily lives full of crime and danger.
On the production side, director Jeymes Samuel and company are aided by top notch editing, title design and sound design, giving the film a visual flair and immersive experience that stimulates the senses and emotions without overloading them. There is an abundantly wonderful application of costuming and styling, not to mention an amazing attention of detail that goes right down to the level of dead teeth and frontier dentistry. The music choices are ‘interesting’ to say the least, coming off as a bit sporadic... the score-based and genre appropriate music passages are serviceable, but at times, the film toes the line of coming off like a less nuanced version of Westworld, or the Rick Ross realms of Django Unchained. The writing is wonderfully poetic, existing perfectly between the world of frontier life and hints of modern touches. On the action side, there are short punches of entertaining action beats that build up to a grand, high-style climax full of great gunplay, fight choreography, big explosions and a story resolution that is brought full circle in a way that is both logically sound and gut-wrenching.
The foundation built by the main four cast members in The Harder They Fall reads like an all-pro team of modern day master thespians : Ildris Elba turns up the sinister dial on his suave nature to an imposing degree; Regina King basks in the hubris of a danger reputation backed up by very real skills and survival instincts; Jonathan Majors continues his streak of balancing effortlessly natural screen presence with vulnerable and raw nerve emotional outbursts; and finally, Zazie Beetz harnesses her coolness and raw attractiveness into a mixture of performative boldness and wisdom-based self-protective measures. Just outside of this main circle are a host of top notch supporting performances, chiefly led by the über-cool Lakeith Stanfield, who owns his moments and tone shifts like an actor twice his age and list of appearances, like a young Harvey Keitel or Donald Sutherland. Daniel Deadwyler also turns in a powerful performance that is largely empowering in the face of the discrimination that both Black folks and women would have felt in the time the film was placed, and does so without any hint of grandstanding or punching down. The chemistry of R.J. Cyler and Edi Gathegi helps push the tertiary plot forward, with their Yinyang presences setting a high bar for all other gang members present. Delroy Lindo happily steps into the role of legend in a casting that not only works in terms of the film’s world, but in a way that mirrors reality based on his long and consistently impressive body of work. Appearances by Deon Cole, Damon Wayans Jr., DeWanda Wise, Julio Cesar Cedillo and many more fill out the large cast.
Netflix has definitely been fighting an uphill battle in terms of being taken seriously as a contender on the level of the Hollywood studio system, and while they’ve had more losses than victories, The Harder They Fall is a huge win (in my opinion). I am definitely going to be recommending this one to both friends and family, and I will almost certainly be revisiting this film for as long as it is around on streaming services. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of Westerns or not, see this one knowing that it is fueled by great performances, and if you are a fan of Westerns, the buckle in for people leaving their all on the floor for the sake of making a great notch in the Western movie belt.
