Patrick Tate (Emile Hirsch) is the carpenter and undertaker of a small town during the California Gold Rush. Though he would like to pull up stakes and cross the mountains to where the gold is, his wife (Deborah Francois) would rather stay. Audrey is pregnant and they are doing well enough. As they are both Catholic (he's Irish and she's French), they are still outsiders despite having joined the local protestant church. It's a tolerable life.
One night, Dutch Albert (John Cusack) knocks on their door during a storm. He asks where he can find Bill Crabtree. Patrick gives directions to the Crabtree house but also reveals that the man left some time ago. Dutch insists that Patrick show him the way, making threats when Patrick balks. Unable to find Crabtree or get information from his terrified wife and daughter, Dutch looks for a saloon. Closed by order of the reverend; this is a dry town. Seeing an opportunity, Dutch buys the saloon and populates it with prostitutes. Unsurprisingly, Patrick gets a lot more requests for his services as undertaker. However, one of Dutch's goons has taken a fancy to Audrey. Now she is eager to leave while Patrick - who has seen his income soar - would rather stay.
The building pressure between Reverend Pike and Dutch cannot hold. The character of the town has changed dramatically, violence abounds, and the cemetery has a lot of fresh graves. Which side will Patrick chose?
Filmed in Ireland and Luxembourg, this is not a bad Western. It is odd to see John Cusack as the bad guy. Emile Hirsch does an excellent job of being the conflicted anti-hero. This is a very different role from Speed Racer and at no point was I reminded of that role. Not an action-packed Western but more of a slow burn to a climax.
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