JANE GOT A GUN is a troubled film. The original director Lynne Ramsay either quit or was fired over differences with the producer the day before shooting was meant to start, prompting celebrated DP Darius Khondji and Jude Law to quit in solidarity. Earlier, Michael Fassbender got waylaid with an X-Men movie causing a last minute switch in casting. And so the movie found itself in the hands of no-name director Gavin O'Connor (PRIDE AND GLORY), DP Mandy Walker (RED RIDING HOOD) who bathes every scene in sepia tint sunset to the point of banality. The resulting film is dreary and emotionally uninvolving, grinding its way to the inevitable and absurdly buoyant conclusion.
Natalie Portman plays the titular heroine. In the framing story her husband Ham is shot by the gang he used to belong to and she decides to arm up and get help from her neighbour, Dan Frost. Together they await the investable battle against Ewan McGregor's gang, having prepared with some A-Team style defences. In the flashback story we learn that Jane and Dan used to be engaged, but he went off to the Civil War and after long delays returned to find her married to Ham. We then discover her side to the story, which is pretty predictable. It's the kind of film where the good guys have perfect teeth and clean skin and the baddies have rotten teeth. The acting is undercut by the three lead actors' shaky attempts at a Western accent.
JANE GOT A GUN has a running time of 98 minutes and is rated R. The movie was released earlier this year in Germany, France, the USA, Kuwait, Philippines, Greece, Cyprus, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand and Israel. It is currently on release in the UK and Ireland. It opens on May 6th in Spain, May 19th in Macedonia and October 22nd in Japan.
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