Director: Matt Knudsen
Writer: Matt Knudsen (Screenplay)
Starring: Abby Eiland, David Thomas Jenkins, Jason Grasl, Jessy Knudsen, Gregory Zaragoza, Rick Cramer, Lola Kelly
Plot: Cassidy Red is a western romance set against the backdrop of the 19th century American southwest. The film follows the headstrong daughter of a prostitute who returns to her hometown, seeking vengeance against the corrupt lawman she believes murdered her lover.
Tagline – Hell hath no fury…
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun Western Adventure
Story: Cassidy Red starts with the town’s storyteller Cricket (Zaragoza) telling Quinn (Knudsen) the story of Joe Cassidy (Eiland). Joe is out for revenge on her ex-fiancée Tom Hayes (Jenkins) that has killed her new fiancée Jakob (Grasl). The story isn’t as simple as this though, the three grow up together, Tom ad Jakob going from different backgrounds and we see the training Joe must go through to prepare for her own vengeance.
Thoughts on Cassidy Red
Characters – Joe Cassidy is a woman that grew up to with both Tom and Jakob, after falling in love with one she only finds herself going on a revenge mission after the other kills the one she fell in love. This is a strong character, we focus on how she was loyal to her mother, dealt with her father’s flaws and would follow love over money. Tom is the son of a rich member of the town, he has seen his family kill for their own success, but the one thing he can’t buy is Joe’s love, which cause him targets them both. Jakob is an apache boy that gets adopted by Tom’s family only for him to steal Joe’s heart from under Tom. He shows Joe a different life of happiness over money.
Performances – Abby Eiland in the leading role is one of the two strongest performances in the film, she shines in this leading role. David Thomas Jenkins does give us the second strong performance, as the villain of the piece, he gives us a performance which feels just as twisted as his character needs to be. While I don’t think Jason Grasl gets enough time to show everything he has, this is mostly done to wanting to make the Joe character a stronger force than the Jakob one.
Story – The story here throws us into a love triangle in the old west that is spike with revenge, while this does sound like it should be an tried and tested formula that we all know and enjoy, this story takes a spin on this which does make things feel refreshing, but does feel like an extra chapter in the ‘Red Dead Redemption’ game franchise, as we follow the steps which become more challenging as the story unfolds. This is a fun story to watch along with even if moments of the timeline can jump in places.
Action/Adventure/Romance/Western – The action is the gunslinger style we know, it works, but isn’t the most original to the genre. The love triangle gives us the motivation for the story, with the western genre being used to show us the environment we are watching the battle unfold in.
Settings – The film is set in the wild west, the town could be any because in that time, the towns nearly all look the same and ran the same.
Special Effects – The effects used in the film are used sparingly which helps because we don’t have any over the top bloodshed for the gun battles.
Scene of the Movie – Learning to shoot.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – One twist comes too early.
Final Thoughts – This is a good western that gives us a good love triangle to see unfold, with twists along the way and a strong final showdown.
Overall: The western stands strong.
Rating
