Set in a sunny italian town by the sea, something's off from the beginning. This seaside looks like the back of something rather than the front. A struggling place in a corner of the world, without many options to make ends meet. A loyal, good-spirited man must handle a befriended neighbor who happens to be the meanest brute. The stakes are high, and choices will have consequences. His inner psychology is kept ambiguous enough for the viewer to speculate about his motivations or moral guides, and all the implications of good and evil.
Beyond Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood, we see more and more films in a similar spirit with modern settings and a common man as the protagonist, unprepared, unwilling, unable for the fight. This serves well the narrative of high-stakes good versus evil, and the cost of bad actions on the self, what fights and sacrifices are ultimately worth the pain. It serves as well the action and style, as things get messy and unpredictable. In this, things can become tremendously tense.
Very strong leading acting, well achieved atmosphere, it is a simple film but indeed it has a very strong bite to it.
Beyond Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood, we see more and more films in a similar spirit with modern settings and a common man as the protagonist, unprepared, unwilling, unable for the fight. This serves well the narrative of high-stakes good versus evil, and the cost of bad actions on the self, what fights and sacrifices are ultimately worth the pain. It serves as well the action and style, as things get messy and unpredictable. In this, things can become tremendously tense.
Very strong leading acting, well achieved atmosphere, it is a simple film but indeed it has a very strong bite to it.