After reading a dozen or more of the comments in this section, I must side with the naysayers. The first half-hour of the film offered some promise of character development, plot twists, suspense, surprise, etc. Absolutely NONE of these things occurred. Winstone's local sheriff is introduced as a supreme bogeyman then promptly becomes a confused husband for the rest of the film. Pearse runs the gamut of emotions from A to B, barely. The townsfolk, few in numbers probably to save money, are almost comical in their zombie state; stumbling around drunk only stopping to rant and/or stare. The actor playing the youngest Burn brother does little but squeal in terror. The older Burns is the devil incarnate, though we have not a clue why.
We never learn one of the most intriguing plot facts, such as why the three Burns brothers raped and killed a settler family. This pulls at a viewer because both characterizations of the younger two brothers - what little is provided - suggests that the two could not be guilty of such atrocity. John Hurt's bounty hunter is almost comic relief, serving no real purpose. Finally, the mayor, or local bigwig, seems to represent someone or something totally alien from the climate and all the other characters in the film. Ironically, this split between the bigwig's interests and the rest of what you see in the movie is the closest thing to contrast in the whole thing - the rest of things simply represent banality, boredom, evil and debauchery.
For a real laugh watch Guy Pearse's interview in the extra's. Mr. Pearse redefines in-articulation and deftly manages to say less than nothing in five minutes of speaking.
We never learn one of the most intriguing plot facts, such as why the three Burns brothers raped and killed a settler family. This pulls at a viewer because both characterizations of the younger two brothers - what little is provided - suggests that the two could not be guilty of such atrocity. John Hurt's bounty hunter is almost comic relief, serving no real purpose. Finally, the mayor, or local bigwig, seems to represent someone or something totally alien from the climate and all the other characters in the film. Ironically, this split between the bigwig's interests and the rest of what you see in the movie is the closest thing to contrast in the whole thing - the rest of things simply represent banality, boredom, evil and debauchery.
For a real laugh watch Guy Pearse's interview in the extra's. Mr. Pearse redefines in-articulation and deftly manages to say less than nothing in five minutes of speaking.