- Directed by Terry Miles
- February 2, 2024
Calamity Jane seeks revenge for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok. Not fact based but rather historical fiction.
The 2024 film Calamity Jane (not to be confused with the 1953 classic) is yet one more film that takes a real person but uses fiction (or a fiction they weaved during their lives) as a basis for the script. That doesn’t make it bad. This is a surprisingly solid movie. Not perfect but better than it deserves to be.
The story is about Jane pursuing the man that killed her husband with that man being genuinely threatening. This is a low budget film that manages to be quality more often than not. Sometimes these characters living in the rough West look too clean on the screen, but it is something you can get past.
Calamity Jane is a rather popular female Western figure so it’s not surprising that there are more than a few Westerns of varying quality that have featured her. I never watched much if any of the Arrowverse shows so I knew nothing of Emily Bett Rickards abilities until seeing her here as Calamity Jane. Rickards has a level of complexity and toughness to her portrayal of the character. While physically a little too small to sell some of the action scenes she does sell the dramatic elements.
I have a little trouble believing it is Stephen Amell as Wild Bill Hickok. He is sporting long black hair and a black mustache. In his performance he comes off as dangerous and threatening and quickly conveys not only a love for Calamity Jane but a danger if you cross the character. With a look in his eyes and his tone he does a lot with a little. Sadly he’s in just a little bit too little of this movie but was an excellent choice in casting.
Jane largely faces off against a female outlaw named Abigail (Priscilla Faia) though she is not who Jane is after. It takes a bit before Abigail feels like a threat but once she does, she becomes indispensable to the story. Abigail has her own group of outlaws which are escorting Jane’s true target through the cliché dangerous territory that Calamity Jane must also now traverse.
Calamity Jane is much more of a drama sprinkled of action than it is an action film. The characters largely have personal issues and regrets, but the story is Jane working through her issues and problems over the death of Wild Bill. She is angry over the life she wanted but never got. Her motivations are understandable.
The camera work leaves a little bit to be desired. It can be static and unimaginative. It’s not quite drop the camera and do nothing but it’s also not anything overly dynamic. It’s a little on the lazy side. This despite having good performances and a good script.
There is some great dialogue in this. I can’t lie about that. It’s an excellent script. And the film itself manages some generally shocking moments. As the story goes along it feels like things are heading almost uncontrolled trolled towards the climax. Director Terry Miles may not have made a classic but managed a good movie.
Some of the characters get shortchanged and needed some development such as the undertaker Calamity Jane hires to guide her to the focus of her rage. He dies in a shootout after he just starts to get going. A little more time was needed there which would mean extending the movie.
For a low budgeted Western Calamity Jane is excellent. The characters are dangerous and the story is exciting. Worth the time for Western fans.
Warren Watched A Movie 