The Unholy Trinity

Back in the day, the western genre was very popular--many were made, but as the decades unfolded, so did the genre's popularity. Then, as certain things recycle, the genre became a 'thing' back in the late 80s to early 90s. We've seen a number of them--some good and others not so good. Of recent , westerns have waned a bit, but if something comes along, it could be profitable. "The Unholy Trinity" has been fairly panned, however after seeing it, I felt it truly worked more than others gave it credit. 

This story promises to deliver an exciting blend of action, suspense and western grit with an all-star ensemble ready to capture audiences this summer. A tale of revenge, dark secrets and buried treasures, the film is set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1888 Montana Territory. It picks up in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway (Tim Daly), as he gives his estranged son, Henry (Brandon Lessard), an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn't commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town, and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove (Pierce Brosnan), the town's upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St. Christopher (Samuel L. Jackson).

Others to round out the cast are Veronica Ferres as Sarah Dove, the sheriff's wife, Gianni Cabaldi as Gideon, Q'orianka Kilcher as Running Club, Katrina Bowden as Julia, Beau Knapp as Asa Benton, Ethan Peck as Sam Scarborough, David Arquette as Father Jacob and Paris Brosnan as Thomas.

This was directed with grit and realism by Richard Gray ("Fish Out of Water" (TV movie) '07, "Summer Coda" '10, "Mine Games" '12, "Blinder" '13, "The Lookalike" '14, "Sugar Mountain" '16, "Broken Ghost" '17, "Robert the Bruce" '19, "Murder at Yellowstone City" '22) plus TV and shorts. The way this filmmaker was able to put his actors in such compromising situations was brilliant and gave that feeling as though we were seeing real life instead of a film. His pacing and staging was certainly strong as was the photography by Thomas Scott Stanton. It was executed well by writer Lee Zachariah ("Election 2007: Countdown to a Letdown" (TV movie) '07) plus TV and shorts. Even though this writer has limited experience, especially this being his first feature film in the writing category, it was still a suspenseful and amazingly gritty story surely to hold the audience's attention. The way that there were a couple of different subplots involved, by films end they did ultimately connect whereas it made one wonder beforehand. Was it flawless? No, there were a couple of places of continuity issues and some cohesiveness issues as well, but certainly not enough to detract from the interest this film had. This writer has potential given he is handed more work to hone his talent. 

If you can appreciate or even love westerns, this will be the film for you. The performances by Brosnan, Jackson and Lessard were well cast and strong. Certainly Jackson must've yawned through this role since he does many of these types of characters: nice guy, but proves to be untrustworthy in the end--a sort of anti-hero. And I personally have never heard of Lessard--possibly does TV which I typically don't keep up with, but was very convincing. This is definitely worth the price of admission for sure!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: R                                               95mins.