Warner Bros.
Most folks appreciate a good Western.
Be they vintage “oaters”, timeless classics like the work of John Ford, revisionist 60s and 70s films like Peckinpah’s Wild Bunch or Soldier Blue, Clint Eastwood’s work in “Spaghetti westerns” and beyond, right up to current TV franchises like Yellowstone, they have been a staple of genre storytelling; those classic elements of good and evil, survival and responsibility in iconic settings grab your imagination and can be transposed into other genres (Outland and Firefly, anyone?).
Which brings us rather neatly to 2024’s The Unholy Trinity, written by Lee Zachariah and directed by Richard Gray, neither of whom I have encountered before on my cinematic trails.
So saddle up, partners, for a ride into review territory…
Troubled young man Henry Broadway, (Brandon Lessard), is briefly reunited with his father Isaac, (Tim Daly), who is due to be hanged for a crime he swears he did not commit. Henry agrees to fulfill Isaac’s dying wish and track down the corrupt sheriff who framed him, traveling to the titular town of Trinity.
Henry confronts the current sheriff, Gabriel Dove, (Pierce Brosnan), who sets him straight- his predecessor Sheriff Butler is already dead, but the townsfolk worshipped him and hated Isaac, putting him in potential danger. Gabriel takes the lad under his wing, but has to deal with simmering unease as the townsfolk demand he finds the Blackfoot woman, Running Cub, (Q’orianka Kilcher), whom they believe killed Butler. After Gabriel sets Henry up at the local saloon, he is persuaded by snarky barman Sam (Ethan Peck) to spend the night upstairs with prostitute Julia (Katrina Bowden), seeing as Gabriel will unwittingly foot the bill, proving that abuse of expense accounts was a thing even in the old West; his romantic intentions are shattered after a disgruntled regular results in a shoot-out and Henry is forced to flee for his life.
He is saved from a lynch mob by the mysterious and charismatic St Christopher, (Samuel L. Jackson), an ex-slave with a past more checkered than a chess board, seeking a haul of gold which his former partner Isaac had stolen with him but cheated him out of. Henry had seen him laughing at Isaac’s execution, (well, it would be another century before Saturday Night Live!), but what will he do next? Will the mounting tension turn into all-out carnage and who, if anyone, will make it out alive to ride off into the sunset…?
There are solid performances here.
Sam Jackson, (sadly no relation), exhibits his trademark dangerous charm and is clearly no stranger to wielding a shootin’ iron in anger. Pierce Brosnan brings a quiet authority to the sage old lawman although (and his recent UK gangster show Mobland would support this), I strongly suspect he had to relearn his Irish accent after years of playing Brits and Americans!
Ethan Peck puts in a brief but satisfying appearance as possibly the worst barkeep north of the Rio Grande and the rest of the cast are all reliable enough. The action, (nothing too gory), dialogue, (nothing too spicy), scenery and direction are all… adequate. Never has the term “damned with faint praise” been more appropriate – the stars are definitely the main attraction, and they aren’t exactly stretched. There are twists in store to keep you guessing but at the end of the day, it lacks the classic themes and resonances that elevate stories set in the old West to a WESTERN.
Whilst The Unholy Trinity is eminently watchable and fills any yearnings you might have for the wild frontier, you’ve probably seen it all before…
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