Movie Review: Dead Man's Burden (2012)

Release Year: 2012
Director: Jared Moshe
Writer: Jared Moshe
Studio: Illuminaria Productions
Rating: NR
Runtime: 93 minutes
Setting: New Mexico




What It's About

While patrolling the post-Civil War wilds of Wyoming, lawman Wade McCurry (Barlow Jacobs) receives a letter from his estranged father imploring him to hasten back to the family's homestead in New Mexico. It seems that trouble has beset the McCurry clan, threatening the family holdings and forcing a legendarily stubborn father to extend his hand to a son he'd once threatened to kill should he ever return home. Somewhat reluctantly, Wade resigns his post and treks to New Mexico to find his father dead, his sister Martha (Clare Bowen) grown and married to Heck Kirkland (David Call) - a fugitive member of Quantrill's Raiders - and a Northern land agent (Joseph Lyle Taylor) sniffing around the property in an attempt to secure priceless water rights for a copper mining operation. It's not long before Wade suspects foul play, and tensions rise as the former lawman sets out to protect the homestead and seek justice. The discovery of the truth surrounding the circumstances of his father's death, combined with the revelation of his own past to Martha and Heck, forces Wade to confront the corrupting power that money holds - even over family ties.

Clare Bowen as Martha McCurry in Dead Man's Burden

Written and directed by Civil War buff Jared Moshe, whose credits thus far have been limited to the production of a handful of shorts and documentaries, Dead Man's Burden is very much a character-driven piece. Filmed on a micro-budget and in a limited number of locations, the movie's fate instead rests upon a strong story, believable characters, and a cast with the talent to breathe life into both.

Despite the limited resources that first-time writer/director Moshe had to work with, Dead Man's Burden gives the presence of a big production wrapped up in indie packaging. Shot on film, the cinematography pleasingly captures the rugged beauty of the stark landscape in which the story is set. The dreaded lens flare phenomenon creeps in to a scene or two, but by and large Moshe's framing was enjoyable.

The story, which Moshe seems to have written with his limited budget in mind, is plausible and well-researched. The Civil War nerd in me was pleased when a key reveal in protagonist Wade's wartime service involved the name of General George Thomas, a key figure in the Battle of Chickamauga who is probably unknown to most viewers - but was certainly well known to the characters in in the film.

Barlow Jacobs as Wade McCurry in Dead Man's Burden

Portraying the three main characters, Barlow Jacobs, David Call and Clare Bowen all deliver convincing performances. None have prior Western film experience, but all adequately adopt the mannerisms and dialect that enable them to accurately portray displaced Southerners scratching out an existence in the harsh frontier. For Jacobs, a native of the Southern United States, I imagine getting into character was not nearly as difficult as it was for Bowen - an Australian. Other than a few slips, she masterfully masked her nationality with an authentically Southern accent.

I found little fault with Dead Man's Burden, though some may bemoan the lack of train robberies and saloons or the sparing use of shootouts. The biggest complaint that I have centers on the sometimes too authentic dialect, which occasionally descended into indecipherable territory. I've lived in the South for several years now, yet still some phrases issued by our three main characters escaped my understanding.

Less conspicuous is what I feel to be a weakness in Bowen's acting arsenal. While she was spot on with most of her emotions - anger, joy, iciness - her display of fear was jarringly unconvincing. It was almost comical, in fact, but overall just a minor gripe.

As you could probably guess by now, the action in Dead Man's Burden is somewhat limited and therefore bloodshed occurs rarely and only when necessary to propel the story forward. By and large the effects are tasteful and avoid over-amplifying the gore factor.

For the most part, the low-budget Westerns that have been cranked out this decade have tended to be on the south side of lousy. Dead Man's Burden does much to reverse this trend, offering up instead a well-filmed, well-written, and well-acted story that extends beyond the genre stereotypes.