David Von Ancken's Seraphim Falls is Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan at their grizzled, violent, moody best, in a phenomenal western that went inexplicably overlooked back in 2006. Von Ancken is also the creator of AMC'S Hell On Wheels, and I strongly believe this is the film that set that idea in motion, a prequel even. Hell, Tom Noonan even shows up as the same preacher he went on to play in the show. Brosnan plays Gideon, an ex civil war soldier running for his life through a vast, unforgiving terrain. Pursuing him like the devil is Neeson as Carver, another ex soldier with one big bone to pick. The reasons for this relentless pursuit slowly become clear, as the lines between antagonist and protagonist blur into simply two humans who both made mistakes, and are paying dearly. Brosnan is a haunted shell of a man, emotionally torn to shreds and stripped of everything but a devil may care, bone and blood survival instinct. He has a few scenes that are his best work I've ever seen (this and Evelyn are his two top roles). Neeson outwardly locks in on a stony, determine calm, that only suggests the tormented typhoon raging beneath, his character using his bloody quest as some kind of solace, not knowing that's the last place it will lead. Seeing these two bosses of cinema go up against each other, in a western no less, is an enormous treat. The violence and fight scenes are bloody, visceral cascade of desperation and white knuckle fury, staged very realistically and really, really gory. Trust me this one earns the hell out of its R rating. The locations are just breathtaking, beginning in a snow dusted mountain peak, and descending through gorgeous pastures, rustic ranches, a railroad in construction, and finally a scorching desert, symbolizing the men's metamorphosis from cold seething hatred into hot blooded, sweaty emotion as the revelation at the end of the road draws near in a final confrontation of startling surprises and soul stinging emotion. The supporting cast is dotted with perfect talent, with committed work from Michael Wincott, Anjelica Huston, Kevin J. O Connor, Ed Lauter, Tom Noonan, Angie Harmon, Wes Studi and Xander Berkeley. If you enjoy intense, beautiful westerns and the work of these two genre titans, definitely check this out.

The ambiguity of the characters is what made the film interesting for me. We don't find out until nearly the end about what really happened at Seraphim Falls, so any attempt at pigeon-holing Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) or Carver (Liam Neeson) as the 'bad guy' just doesn't work, even though both reveal aspects of themselves that verge on being outside the law. We know Gideon is extremely clever at eluding his pursuers, and it takes an iron will and stamina to suffer the physical abuse of the hunt. Carver on the face of it seems like the evil hunter, constantly reminding his posse that he will not fulfill his part of the bargain if they don't stay until the mission is accomplished. The revelation of the Seraphim Falls incident temporarily exonerates Gideon's role in that tragic event, nevertheless he recognizes his responsibility for what happened while in charge of his company. The sense of loss that accompanies both men is given additional resonance as each man is gradually stripped of his material possessions during the story, until both men are left to face their mortality with not a single thing left in the world. One is left with a sense that under other circumstances, these men might have been friends.

When I was in eighth grade, several of us got a 8mm camera and made a movie called "The Chase," which was mainly two of our friends in costume chasing one another around San Diego's Balboa Park. Seraphim Falls is a chase film, but it's filmed with beauty and precision in New Mexico, and thought the plot is equally simple, the character development and the allegorical overlay makes it, if perhaps a little long, a compelling old fashioned Western.Neeson and Brosnan, both Irish, play Civil War officers with bad blood between them, the reasons for which slowly unfold as one stalks the other--on the way, they encounter a railway being built, a religious cult plopped down in the desert, a lone native American in a top hat by an oasis--in other words, enough variety to keep the chase fascinating--and the music drives the plot along nicely, the grand sweep of the photography from mountain ranges to cracked desert floors a trip in itself. It's no masterpiece, but a solid, old-fashioned Western with a thematic update.

Heh, easy way to write a review...Seriously, after I read this (fellow's?) review I honestly don't think that I could say it any better. As a matter of fact, I bloody well KNOW that I couldn't! : ) The only other thing that I want to add is that this is an EXTREMELY Existentialist film (well, technically until the odd couple of encounters toward the end which will likely turn off the Western 'Realists' that ol' IQ is talking about) As he also said, this is not your usual by the numbers, Good Guys / Bad Guys kind of film. In one way it is REALLY stripped down to very RAW, primitive elements; but, on the other hand there is a very low-key, sort of subtle underlying almost metaphysical feel to it, ESPECIALLY at the end.So, as IQ said about 'Misdirected'; I wouldn't really quite use that word, since I do not feel that the film itself is misdirected, but I would say that people who go to watch this movie can VERY easily and mistakenly be misdirected into thinking or erroneously jumping to the conclusion that it is overly simple and / or boring with nothing much to it.So, in a unique way it is sort of a 'Thinking Man's' Western, but only in a deep down, almost vague kind of way. If you think that you are all intellectual and whatnot, you might easily watch this for a few minutes and think 'I don't see what the big deal is'. But, as the reviewer at DVD Verdict said, once it was over and he gave himself time to digest it, even though ON THE SURFACE it looks really simple, he began to appreciate some of the underlying things about it. So, DON'T expect a bunch of 'Clever' dialog or anything like 'THE USUAL SUSPECTS' or anything remotely like that. The 'Thinking' part isn't based upon any obvious 'Cleverness', but more in a 'Pondering' kind of way well after you have finished watching the movie.Heh, truly a hard one to put across to others as to whether they would want to watch it or not, but like IQ stated far more eloquently than I could, if you consider what kind of Western it is that you enjoy, you should be able to make a decent guess as to whether you would like this film...