They Die By Dawn

• Written and Directed by Jeymes Samuel
• September 20, 2013 (US)

Four outlaws each with a bounty on their heads meet for a shootout with the last one left alive taking the bounties on all.

I can’t recall exactly when I first heard about They Die By Dawn but it has been on my mind for quite some time yet I kept putting it off. For some reason I found plenty of time for 90 minutes or more worth of film when I watched movies, but I couldn’t squeeze in around 45 minutes on a given day to watch this.  

They Die By Dawn is worth watching for the talent involved alone. The number of skilled people in this is just impressive. Giancarlo Esposito as Isom Dart, Kelly Hu as Polly Bemis, Rosario Dawson as Edmonia Lewis, Bokeem Woodbine as Bill Picket, Jesse Williams as John Taylor, Michael K. Williams as Nat Love, Isaiah Washington as Ben Hodges, Harry Lennix as the legendary Sheriff Bass Reeves, Clifton Powell as the local deputy sheriff, Denzel Whitaker as Paul Dunbar, Roger Guenveur Smith as Jourdon Anderson, Nate Parker as Jim Beckwourth, Jeymes Samuel as Lobo, and Erykah Badu as Stagecoach Mary. Those are just the individuals I recognize. Most or all the characters they play are actual western figures. A smooth melding of real and fictional happens here.

And considering They Die By Dawn ranks as a short film and is now available for free on YouTube that’s even more impressive. It is one of those productions where the people involved clearly got into it to perform rather than to simply grab a paycheck. Yeah the paycheck was certainly a goal but a small film that will be seen on the festival circuit before getting dumped on YouTube does not feel like a necessary career move for established individuals.

Even with a packed cast nobody hogs the movie. They appear as needed and with a great deal of skill characters get established quickly. Not much depth but enough to get the viewer to the end. And it manages a surprise or two by the end. This is a story filled with tough and dangerous men. They get along but only so long as one doesn’t cross the other. You get the feeling as you should no one is genuinely safe with anybody there. Yet there is some honor among these killers.

The action is minimal. And the smidge we do get is brief. This is all about the characters and building to the end. There is a sense of final confrontation coming from the opening moments all the way to the close. Then it just ends. And it does so in a way that works. You don’t see the final disposition of any of the remaining characters. Yet it doesn’t matter because the ending somehow managed to be satisfying.

Jeymes Samuel managed enough Old West talk that doesn’t feel forced. These may not be the most educated of people, but they are far from stupid or hicks. Their intelligence and brutality marry to make them dangerous. There’s a reason the West is romanticized. It is because many of those the figures that we remember were larger than life and very colorful. In a credit to the director’s skill, Samuel gets that across. This is a meeting of titans.

The budget is low yet this is not done so cheap that it looks fake. They keep modern elements from the background on sets with a decent amount of extras. You will not spot present day locks or windows or the poorly concealed light fixture.

They Die By Dawn is a fantastic western short. Just a gripping presentation. This should appeal to old and new Western fans. Easily found on YouTube.