The Quick and the Dead

• Directed by Sam Raimi
• February 10, 1995 (US)

A female gunfighter rides into a dusty frontier town and joins a deadly dueling competition to exact revenge for her father’s death.

One thing I quickly noticed is The Quick and the Dead has many of the touches of Sam Raimi’s old style that began with The Evil Dead. The framing and directing style are very much in line with what began there in comparison to what you get in Multiverse of Madness. It gives this film a style and flavor all its own in the genre. Not a guarantee of being a classic but rather a good way to start.

Before I get too deep into this I need to say something. There is a young Leonardo DiCaprio as Fee “The Kid” Herod who appears on screen a lot. I will say this right now: I have no idea how Leonardo DiCaprio is a star. This was a showcase of him young and all he had going for him was good looks married with a distinct lack of inflection or character creation. His delivery is nothing more than a dry read. Now that I got that out of my system…

The character of a female gunfighter can be a tough sell. Not because women can’t be tough but because too often directors and script writers just don’t know how to craft it. Rami manages some moments to get it across here. Ellen “The Lady” McKenzie (Sharon Stone) comes off as a hardened veteran gun in a few brief moments one of which contains the almost obligatory amazing bit of shit shooting to save a life which actually references a formative moment in the character’s life. There are others where Ellen seems a little bit unprepared for things. At other points she seems to be carefully feeling things out. Is she emotionally ready or filled with rage and unprepared? Does the character have a plan or are they making it up as they go along. Both are probable here but neither settled on.

There are many mysterious characters in The Quick and the Dead. I don’t need complete biographies of everybody involved but too many unknown motivations can harm a film. If you don’t know why anybody is doing anything for a large chunk of the movie it becomes difficult to become invested. Why is The Lady there? Why did Cort (Russell Crowe) give up his violent life? Why is The Kid so invested in being in the shooting competition? Why is Sergeant Clay Cantrell (Keith David) involved at all?

Characterization suffers here to keep the mysteries going. Cort and The Lady become allies (presumably based on similar goals) but why does she pick him as sheriff before the close? You never really know. We have almost no background on Cort. It’s been something done in dozens of other movies and I guess they felt the need to do it here too.

Occasionally we get answers to questions but getting those answers takes up time from what should be the central story of The Lady and John Herod (Gene Hackman). It takes a bit to learn he is why she is there. For far too much of The Quick and the Dead you just think he is a creeper and she is some stranger that is going to right a wrong.

Hackman does a marvelous job as the man that runs the town with an iron fist. A common Western villain given a fresh spin as only Gene Hackman could. In my opinion Gene Hackman is the real star of the movie. He was one of those incredibly gifted actors whose retirement left a void in Hollywood but certainly guaranteed that his legacy will never be diminished by having taken far too many lesser and lesser rolls. John Herod is scary and psychotic yet intelligent and focused. He can be charming and dangerous. 

The story of The Quick and the Dead occurs against the backdrop of a gun fighting contest where people compete to see who’s the best gun. Survivor takes all. Seems a little stupid until you get the reason. Herod does this contest so he can face his enemies rather than worry about them sneaking up behind them. He is a fast gun and does not worry about defeat.

There’s plenty of good in this, but maybe because of the mystery Sam Raimi doesn’t know how or is unable to make it feel like The Lady and Herod are heading towards a final confrontation. She’s clearly scared of him and has an axe to grind. Then again, so does everybody in the town.

There are plenty of explosions in the finale to distract Herod and give The Lady her the opportunity to fight him. I just have no idea how a man how Ellen was able to plant so many explosives around town and set them off in the appropriate order. Did she have help and I just missed that part somehow? She blew up the clock tower and Herod’s house and a store too. 

In the end The Quick and the Dead just doesn’t come together. The motivations of the characters are not always clear. The two people who feel like they should be headed for a final conversation don’t feel that way. There is enough good in this to get you through but not enough good to make it a classic. It’s worth watching to see Sam Raimi doing something different, but you will be hoping for what could’ve been and not enjoying what actually is.