Sweetwater - DVD

Content: Actually, Sarah (January Jones) and Miguel Ramirez (Eduardo Noriega) wanted to start a new life on their small farm in New Mexico, bringing them peace and family happiness. But they quickly realize that the relocation will bring them a great deal of suffering instead. First, they get screwed over by their bank, and then cult leader Josiah (Jason Isaacs) makes their lives miserable. When Miguel stands in the way of the self-proclaimed prophet, it has deadly consequences for him. Although Josiah has Miguel's body buried, pregnant Sarah quickly realizes that the cult leader killed her husband. And now there is only one goal for her: she wants revenge - and it should be as bloody as possible. She gets help from the eccentric Sheriff Jackson (Ed Harris), who himself has a score to settle with Josiah...

The brothers Logan and Noah Miller have written a very successful revenge western over long distances with Sweetwater. The film, directed by Logan Miller, has some great visuals, a nicely nasty villain and some surprisingly amusing interludes. Therein, however, lies one of its problems. Because while the story is actually rather dark and some scenes seem extremely intense, the occasional interspersed humor and the very quirky supporting characters sometimes come across as a bit forced. Where Quentin Tarantino found the right mix in Django Unchained, for example, the Millers' script simply lacks craftsmanship. With them, a somewhat unbalanced overall picture emerges, which would have turned out more positive without the too eccentric impact guaranteed.

But apart from that, Sweetwater can also convince in many aspects across the board. One of these aspects is lead actress January Jones, who here is far from the role from the series Mad Men, through which she became properly known. Especially in the second half of the film, when Jones leaves a bloody trail as an ice-cold avenging angel, the actress delivers a really good performance. This is perfectly complemented by the somewhat offbeat acting that Ed Harris delivers. Watching the two of them try to take down the cult leader, embodied very forcefully by Jason Isaacs, has a lot of show and entertainment value.

A slightly better polished script and dropping some of the overly eccentric moments would have certainly done Sweetwater some good. But as it is, the film still offers solid entertainment, carried by convincing actors, which lovers of bloody revenge westerns can safely take in their stride. And for this there is then also under the bottom line still a: with small deductions worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The very dirty look of the film comes on the DVD thanks to the earthy color scheme and the well-adjusted contrasts coherently to the validity. The image sharpness is on a good level and can convince especially in the brighter scenes even with the representation of smaller details. The sound is primarily determined by dialogues and discreet ambient noises. Every now and then, however, sound effects such as gunfire ensure that some movement is added to the surrounds. Good!

Extras: As a bonus there is a short, but not uninteresting Making of (about 10 min.), as well as the trailer for the film.

Conclusion:Sweetwater is a gritty revenge western that swims against the mainstream with very eccentric characters and occasionally wry humor. This works really well especially in the scenes that feature Ed Harris. In other scenes, however, it seems more like the film is getting in its own way. This is because the intensity that is contained in the core of the story is significantly weakened by the extravagant staging, especially towards the end. Nevertheless, due to the visual realization and the good actors, there is still a satisfied in the end: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp