Pitched somewhere between Spike Lee and Tarantino (but not hitting the heights of either), The Harder They Fall is an interesting film that certainly improves as it goes along. At first it takes time to get used to the clashing styles of old-school Western genre tropes, blaxploitation and an anachronistically contemporary soundtrack, but what sells this movie is that it is packed with terrific performances. Weaving a story out of oft-overlooked real people of colour, it tells a full-blooded revenge tale that takes it time but pulls together very well for an engaging third act. It is well-lensed and the narrative is well-constructed. The film may do less in conveying black experience in the Wild West than redressing the absence of people of colour in the Western film genre, but it certainly gives an entertaining and well-made twist to a well-worn genre.
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