RUST: 2 STARS. “an uncomfortable watch that overstays its welcome”
SYNOPSIS: In “Rust,” a new Western now playing in theatres, an outlaw grandfather breaks his grandson out of jail after he accidentally killed a man. On the run toward Mexico, the pair are pursued by a relentless sheriff and a dogged bounty hunter.
CAST: Alec Baldwin, Patrick Scott McDermott, Josh Hopkins, Frances Fisher, and Travis Fimmel. Directed by Joel Souza.
REVIEW: If not for the tragic circumstances surrounding the making of this film, it’s unlikely much ink would be spilled on “Rust.”
Over-long, miscast and cliché riddled, it’s destined to be remembered not as a compelling horse opera, but as the film that cost cinematographer Halyna Hutchins her life.
In October 2021 the forty-two-year-old was fatally shot when a prop gun, fired by actor Alex Baldwin, was accidentally loaded with a live round. The same bullet struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. He was treated in hospital and released the next day.
As a result, it’s difficult to view the 1882-set “Rust,” a movie whose narrative is driven by an accidental shooting and features Baldwin suggesting to his young grandson to make sure his gun is loaded, “the next time you want to kill somebody,” through any other lens than real life.
Still, I’ll give it a go.
A traditional Western that explores well-worn themes of family, redemption and the morality of violence, “Rust” plants many of the same story seeds as “Unforgiven” and “The Searchers,” but, unfortunately, they never bear fruit. Mixing morality and survival with archetypal characters (Baldwin’s loner with a past, etc.) is fine, not everything has to blaze a new trail, but to be effective, the story needs interesting characters and worldbuilding.
That’s where “Rust” suffers.
A miscast Baldwin shares chemistry with his young co-star Patrick Scott McDermott, but fails to deliver a frontier vibe. His character is more grumpy grandfather than grizzled gunslinger. “I may be long in the tooth,” he says in one of the film’s many overwritten bits of dialogue, “but no one has sawn my horns off yet.”
His take on elderly outlaw Harland Rust feels like a faint shadow of those who came before. He’s a wannabe William “Will” Munny, but unable to hold the movie’s core.
Touched by tragedy, “Rust,” despite Halyna Hutchins’s beautiful, moody cinematography, is an uncomfortable watch and overstays its welcome at 140 minutes.
NOTE: The film is dedicated to Hutchins and a portion of the film’s profits are going to her family.
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