Set in 1865 at the tail end of the American Civil War we meet two sisters and their former black slave who have been left to fend for themselves on the farm since the war has taken away all the men folk. The new way of life sits uneasy on the younger sister baulking at her new lowly status as a mere field hand.
Then a chance occurrence means her elder sister – has to go to town and in so doing crosses paths with two Yankee soldiers who are part of an advance foraging party. They are no lovers of the rule of law and as William Tecumseh Sherman has said 'War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it; the crueller it is, the sooner it will be over'. These guys seem to want the war to end much quicker than most would countenance and bring their own brand of 'cruel'. Thus is set in motion a plight and fight for survival as the soldiers set about getting what they really want.
Now this is part of the new clutch of westerns that bring gritty realism with modern sensibilities, and I am a fan. It is done really well with god attention to period detail and a keening authenticity that makes the characters mire believable. Couple this with a string cast and a good story and you have nigh on all the ingredients for a very well made film.
Then a chance occurrence means her elder sister – has to go to town and in so doing crosses paths with two Yankee soldiers who are part of an advance foraging party. They are no lovers of the rule of law and as William Tecumseh Sherman has said 'War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it; the crueller it is, the sooner it will be over'. These guys seem to want the war to end much quicker than most would countenance and bring their own brand of 'cruel'. Thus is set in motion a plight and fight for survival as the soldiers set about getting what they really want.
Now this is part of the new clutch of westerns that bring gritty realism with modern sensibilities, and I am a fan. It is done really well with god attention to period detail and a keening authenticity that makes the characters mire believable. Couple this with a string cast and a good story and you have nigh on all the ingredients for a very well made film.