Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Writer: Ivan Kavanagh (Screenplay)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, John Cusack, Deborah Francois, Molly McCann, Quinn Topper Marcus, Sam Louwyck, Danny Webb
Plot: An Irish undertaker profits when outlaws take over a peaceful American frontier town, but his family comes under threat as the death toll rises.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow
Story: Never Grow Old starts as we head to a small frontier town, where carpenter and undertaker Patrick Tate (Hirsch) with his family Audrey (Francois), Emma (McCann) and Thomas (Marcus) live, with the Christian beliefs, without alcohol or trouble in the town.
When Dutch Albert (Cusack) and his men arrive in the town, they challenge the religious beliefs by reopening the bar, bringing the sin back to the town, giving Patrick a chance to start making big money with the increased death rate, this is until his own family comes under threat.
Thoughts on Never Grow Old
Characters – Patrick Tate is an Irish immigrant living in this town, he has a family, but is struggling with his carpenter trade, as well as his undertaker business, this is until Dutch arrives, seeing the death rate increase, leaving him wondering if he is still doing the right thing or not now. Dutch Albert is an outlaw that roles into town, he looks to bring the sin back to the religious town, which sees the crime and death rates rise, though none of the deaths are at his hands. Audrey is Patrick’s wife that doesn’t approve of the new money that has been coming their way, knowing it is coming from the death of the neighbours, while Emma and Thomas are their children, he must protect.
Performances – Emile Hirsch and John Cusack are the biggest two names in the film, they are both fine in the film, they don’t reach the levels they have in the past, but are above the rest of the cast in the film.
Story – The story here shows how one town is turned upside down when an outlaw decides to make it his own, with the local undertaker making a profit from the new criminal actions in the town, pushed to the limits when his own family gets targeted by what happens. This does fall into the story we have seen before, with the small town getting turned upside down, with people not standing up because of fear, only for everything to get out of hand and the person who is making money out of the greed being the one that gets the most conflicted by everything.
Action – The action is the typical frontier experience, showing us how the guns fights were shot, with the quickest draw getting the kill.
Settings – The film is set in a small frontier town, which has a close community, it looks like the strongest part of the film, with the designs makes us feel like we are in the time period.
Scene of the Movie – The first visit.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is so slow.
Final Thoughts – This is a slow action western that just never gets going, it doesn’t have much going on once it does, leaving us feeling like we aren’t watching much of anything.
Overall: Painfully slow.
