South of Heaven, West of Hell

I've seen hundreds, probably thousands of movies. Seldomly do I find a film as refreshingly different and daring as Dwight Yoakam's "SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL." Its gritty, yet realistic portrayal of the old west is told with sardonic wit and brilliant characterizations. Too often the audience is spoon-fed cliche's and larger than life heroes, when the truth is that most men are cowards when facing the wrong end of a gun... most are bad-shots, too. The bad guy in a make-shift jail cell? Yes, most films would gloss over the existence of a "hole" in the floor, or even another in the wall to accomodate a conjugal visit. Most filmmakers would shy away from dynamite-slinging bandits, leading men that are not perfect, bad guys that are genuinely appealing and romances that are not consummated. But Yoakam's deft hand, and even stronger cast, combine for a truly unique and enjoyable film. Some viewers or critics "won't get it." Probably the same sort that called "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a karate-movie. "SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL" is a stellar piece of quality, independent filmmaking. It's not a western, not a comedy but something so much more.

Don't pick it up. Don't rent it. Don't even LOOK at it. And don't touch the box cover. Think of it as an incurable, deadly disease that needs to be quarantined. Because that's what it is. It's like a virus. A bad one. Only it's worse than that -- much worse. It's slow death. Two hours and twenty minutes of slow, excruciating, torturous death. Pure torture, from start to finish. A story that goes nowhere. Characters you couldn't give a rat's ass about. Tedious, pointless gun battles that go on forever, and then a little longer. Was there an editor on this show?!?!?!? Who ever thought that someday "Heaven's Gate" would look good? But first, you've got to get through it, the enduramnce test of all time. Be forewarned: just when you're thinking, "Thank God, the end is in sight, the pain is about to end -- it goes on some more. Like a horrific beast that screams endlessly and refuses to die, the film then goes on some more. And then it goes on some more after that. And then, some more. And some more after that. Watching this film is perhaps best summed up by Sean Penn's great line in "The Game": "They f*** you, and they f*** you and they f*** you -- and just when you think it's over, that's when the real f***ing begins!!" But take heart, pitiable viewer, there is a light at the end of the deep dark tunnel. You who have unknowingly stumbled into the black and bottomless abyss can take comfort in the fact that yes, Virginia, there is an end to it all. And it's coming soon. Just not soon enough. It WILL be over, though. Eventually. In a few more hours. And then the pain will end, and soon the darkness. So sit tight, pray a little, visualize the end credit crawl, and the end of the suffering will arrive. And we -- all of us -- can thank the good Lord in Heaven that the damnable creature is finally dead, and pray we never have to go through this Hell again. So look at the bright side: once this abysmal abortion on celluloid is over, there's a pretty good chance you'll be able to get over it, completely forget about it, pretend the nightmare never happened, and go back to living your life. And warn everyone you know to be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

source: South of Heaven, West of Hell

I hate to break this to all the Dwight fans out there, but when it comes to film making, the emporer has no clothes. This is less a western as it is an exercise in vanity. There are many long lingering closeups of Dwight, even one of his rear end, and all of them should have been cut. The plot is not worth repeating, you've seen it a million times, you know, a sheriff in a moral crisis- what sets this film apart is that it's over two hours long, and apparently no one had the wherewithal cut it to a watchable length. The acting is all over the boards, some people are amazingly hammy (Peter Fonda, Billy Bob Thornton) some people are amazingly boring (Dwight, Briget Fonda) and all of them appear to be lacking any real direction. There is no cohesiveness, no drive, no shape to this film. Buy the soundtrack and enjoy it in the privacy of your home, no need to waste your time with the film.

To begin this review, I should confess that I am a Dwight Yoakam fan. (I happen to think he is one of the most brilliant stars in Country music today.) That being said, I will admit that I thought he did an exceptional job writing, directing, scoring, and starring in this movie. You should know that this is not `Bonanza' or `The Magnificent Seven'. Grittier and darker than the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood `Spaghetti Westerns', I would say that this movie is a cross between `The Wild Bunch', `Last Man Standing', and `Unforgiven'. While there are several gunfights, this is more of a `thinking man's Western'. The casting was quite interesting. Although, I thought the talents of Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, and Peter Fonda were underutilized. While Dwight Yoakam gave a strong performance as the soft-spoken, kind-hearted marshal, Vince Vaughn was brilliant! If you're like me, this is not a movie for when you're in a `shoot 'em up' mood. For that, I'd recommend `The Wild Bunch'. However, if you're a fan of the Western and you're looking for something with substance, then is definitely your movie.

That about says it all. This is one LOOOOONNNNGGGGGG and indulgent western, proof yet again that actors or singer/songwriters need to go to film school before spending someone elses millions. I won't go into the plot, such as it is. The acting is all over the maps, the camera work is average, the music just okay. I guess I expected more from this film, at least a great score, but it wasn't there. Worst of all, it squanders a lot of talent in a big sleepy tale that should've been half as long as it was. This falls into the "what were they all thinking?" category. Skip it.

I was enticed by the cast of this movie when I rented it. Then I found that none of the actors or actresses were given a chance to do any acting. The plot is scattered and aimless. A marshall in a small town had to go up against his long separated adopted family when they blew into town to rob a bank. Get this, the story pick up one year later after he quitted marshalling and became a cowhand for a western show. The director finds it too mundane to show us why and how this decision came about. He ran into his marauding family again and this time they maimed his new found love interest. So he chased them to their nest and killed them. The dialogue do not relay much about the characters or the story line. Scenes are staged haphazardly. Bud Cort, of "Harold and Maude" fame, is totally wasted here to play a character that has nothing to do with the plot.

South of Heaven, West of Hell is a dimension of David Lynch proportions. The story takes place in a purgatory of sorts between life and death. Amazingly, however, this Western setting is extremely accurate, capturing the complete mood of that time. The film is very fresh on several other levels as well. The black humor and ghost like characters are very new to such a well done Western scene. South of Heaven is definitely genre bending and creative. The acting throughout the film is superb from beginning to end. Every actor gives a world class performance. Vince Vaughn and Bud Cort had to have been in mind during the writing. Dwight does a great job himself, especially considering he wrote, directed, stared, and did the music for the movie. The movie works on so many different levels that if you have a chance, see it. Do yourself a favor and stick around till the end. This movie is by no means conventional. It wanders through a story with seemingly no structure. It can be hard to watch when you can not figure out why the leading man is MIA for 30 minutes. There is quite a bit to think about. Watch it with an open mind and an open ear for Dwight's jazzy score, and notice the Gray production value. Superb.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN directed by Dwight Yoakam has the look of a classic western color motion picture. The cinematography by James Glennon must have inspired Glennon's later work on the HBO series DEADWOOD for which Glennon received an Emmy. The production design, the art direction, the wardrobe, the locations all worked as one piece with the cinematography to give the film a great cinematic look - the vision of the director is there in every detail. The performance of Bridget Fonda is a stand out among a cast of what must be Dwight Yoakam's friends that includes Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Scott Wilson, Paul Reubens, Vince Vaughn, Peter Fonda, Michael Jeter, Joe Unger, Otto Felix, Warren Zevon, and Billy Bob Thornton.

I rented this DVD with the risk that it might be "too wierd." Forget that! It wasn't wierd at all? It was just bad! What were all the reviews about ghosts about? I didn't see that at all? The big name talent all just had "ghost roles." Dont' be fooled by that. Waste of time