The Old Way takes on a classic Western storyline in which a formerly ruthless gunslinger (Nicolas Cage) is forced to return to the brutal violence of his past years after his nature was tamed by the love of a good woman (Kerry Knuppe). Though it is not the same level of masterpiece as Unforgiven or even the more recent Old Henry, The Old Way is still a compelling film that is well-made, despite its obvious budget limitations, and well-performed by an exceptionally talented cast.
Cage plays Colton Briggs, a highly stoic and mild-mannered shopkeeper who obviously (though quietly) holds a great deal of affection for his good-natured wife but keeps his equally stoic and precocious pre-teen daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) at arm’s length. Briggs’ world is soon shattered when his past, in the form of a gang of gunslingers (which includes Clint Howard and Abraham Benrubi) led by the son (Noah Le Gros) of a man Briggs murdered years prior, comes back to haunt him. After the gang brutally murders his wife, Briggs seeks vengeance against those seeking vengeance against him and begins tracking them through the frontier of the Old West. He is begrudgingly forced to take his daughter along for the ride, teaching her the unwritten laws of the land as they go.
Though it contains a few finely executed shoot-outs, The Old Way refreshingly avoids being an outright action film and instead focuses on the development of its characters and their relationships, namely the one between Briggs and his daughter. The film exists more to showcase excellent and in-depth performances than it does to contain stand-offs and gunfights that have already before been executed countless times in countless ways.
Cage and Armstrong have a wonderfully effortless and life-like chemistry, with each of them portraying their emotionally closed-off characters with honesty and humor. Their moments together are the true highlights of the film. In particular, the scene when Briggs teaches his daughter how to shoot a gun gets to the root of each character and their difficult relationship in a complex yet funny fashion.
Cage portrays Briggs with subtlety and stillness, never once relying on his trademark boldness or exuberant theatricality. It’s impressive and exciting to see him continue to challenge himself and push himself to new limits, even in the later stage of his career. Armstrong is downright excellent, portraying her character’s emotionally complicated arc with the grace of a seasoned professional. It’s one of the best, wisest, and most adult-like child performances since Julia Butters’ outstanding work in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, screenwriter Carl W. Lucas’ supporting characters are not nearly as interesting or developed as the film’s main characters. Noah Le Gros, a fine young actor who previously worked with Cage in the underrated A Score to Settle, does the best he can with the material he is given as the film’s primary antagonist. The under-written and underdeveloped role, however, should have been as complex and as rich as the protagonists. Instead, Le Gros is more of a black-and-white villain that conveys little-to-no interior conflict or ambiguity. As a result, scenes centering on his character fall into Western clichés and don’t properly blend with the more developed and mature scenes that center on Cage and Armstrong’s characters. It’s quite obvious while watching the film that Briggs and his daughter are the characters who most captured Lucas’ interest and affection while he was writing it.
Director Brett Donowho and his behind-the-scenes collaborators accomplish quite a lot with their limited resources. The Old Way is classically executed, devoid of show-off camera moves and angles and flashy editing techniques, and utilizes an overall unobtrusive style that allows the story, characters, and performances to be the main priority. Cinematographer Sion Michel captures the frontier scenery quite beautifully but never allows it to take precedence over what is happening within it. Editor Frederick Wardell maintains a smooth and steady pace throughout the film’s rather short 95-minute runtime. The many character-driven moments never weigh down The Old Way’s momentum, and the intermittent quick bursts of violence are that much more effective because they complement the otherwise even pacing so well.
The Old Way is an overall solid effort with strong performances and exemplary low-budget filmmaking. Though its screenplay is a tad inconsistent and derivative, it still contains some fascinating characters and wonderfully thoughtful themes. The film could have been a masterpiece with a little more pre-production finessing and a slightly higher budget but, as it is, it still manages to be a rather impressive accomplishment.
GRADE B+
