In a Valley of Violence

This was a damned lot of fun. Not perfect, but the flaws aren’t bad. Let’s get those quibbles out of the way. Sometimes, the score gets a little corny, almost like a satire of western scores. And sometimes, the dialogue is wholly inappropriate for the scene or the movie itself. Both contribute to the occasional tone issue, where the movie kinda lapses into being a little too loose and irreverent. But only occasionally. Because more often than not, this movie is solid through and through. Ethan Hawke does a great job playing the mysterious drifter type. I’ve yet to see Taissa Farmiga be even average; the lady is money, every time she’s on screen. John Travolta is a lot of fun as the marshal, and James Ransone is a manic delight as his unhinged son that makes the mistake of pissing off Hawke by killing his dog. Yup, it’s John Wick in the old west, and that ain’t a bad thing at all. It’s not Tombstone-level elite, and it’s not terribly original, but sometimes, when the familiar beats are hit really well, that’s just fine.