Western Wednesday: Sweetwater

Originally titled 'Sheriff  Jackson'.

Sweetwater may feel like a senseless, pointless movie for many film fans but it's a refreshing western due to the main characters and the actors playing them. The film starring January Jones, Ed Harris and Jason Isaacs was directed by Logan Miller and Noah Miller (who went uncredited). Sweetwater tells the story of three different characters in Sarah a former prostitute who is now married to Miguel (Eduardo Noriega) and runs a farm with him while trying to live a normal life, there's Cornelius Jackson a lawman in search of two men, brothers who went missing, and then there's Prophet Josiah the sadistic leader or a religious sect. The three later collide in a blood triangle in the rugged plains of New Mexico. The film was based on a story by Andrew McKenzie and was sent to the Millers via their Touching Home DVD distributor and were later hired to re-write the script. Sweetwater, originally titled Sheriff Jackson has the makings of a cult classic and even though the film might be dodgy at times for some viewers due to its tone, it's nonetheless entertaining and worth watching for anyone who's a fan of westerns that are under the radar. That being said it's not a perfect film by any means, but the Miller twins are capable filmmakers in their own right and also appear uncredited as the two missing brothers.

January Jones as Sarah

Sarah is a character who had been through some hard times in her life, a former prostitute and now trying to live an honest life with her husband Miguel (Eduardo Noriega) makes you root for her throughout the movie and January Jones does a fine job in showing that part of her character, when she makes the 180 from a sweet farm woman to a vengeful fallen angel it's believable though I think it would've been better if she was more fire than steel in the role. Jason Isaacs is entertaining as the sadistic religious leader and looks to be enjoying the part, he goes over the top but in a good way and this is probably his most detestable role since The Patriot.

Jason Isaacs as Prophet Josiah

I think Ed Harris stole the show here, and I'm not just saying this since he's my favorite actor but because of how unique Sheriff Jackson is as a character, you could tell that he would've fit into a Tarantino film effortlessly and his eccentric nature gives Harris many opportunities to do whatever he wants with the character and he makes Jackson charming, hilarious, and wild that you nearly forget that this guy has his own violent tendencies as well.

Ed Harris as Sheriff Cornelius Jackson

One of the best things aside from the main cast were the secondary characters like Kingfisher played by Luce Rains who is pretty much the most useless sheriff of any town and later gets his ass kicked by Jackson and rides off to work for Prophet Josiah, and the presence of Kathy Lamkin rounds out the entire cast as Bertha Jean the grandmother who serves as a witness to a murder later on in the film and shares the screen with Harris. There are a few more actors who lend their talent here but these two stood out to me at least and coincidentally both actors appeared in the Coen Brothers film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men.

Luce Rains as Kingfisher

Kathy Lamkin as Bertha Jean in a scene with Ed Harris

The scenery is beautiful and perfect for a western like this and you could tell that shooting outdoors was a big deal for the production crew since it looks like they shot exteriors as much as they can, nearly most of the interactions take place outdoors, and even the scenes set it the town didn't have too many extras hanging around in the background but it worked out in the end. Overall, I enjoyed the film despite some of it's flaws and I'm sure it's going to have its own cult following in the western genre but I wouldn't be against the idea of a television series with Sheriff Jackson if the Miller twins ever think of revisiting the character.