Microfilmmaker Magazine - Final Film Critique: The Wooden Gun, Pg. 2


	*Final Critique: The Wooden Gun, Pg. 2*

The only part of the escape scene that bothered me was how the Sheriff wasn't killed. It's important to the story that he remain alive to come after Jake and Steve later on, but in the way the scene was edited, it's difficult to tell exactly how it is he managed to not get himself killed and is instead knocked unconscious. It may be better to re-edit the scene with a close-up shot of the Sheriff lying on the ground moaning, just to let the audience know that he isn't dead. This may help clear up some of the confusion that comes from Jake's line about Steve being an accomplice in "two more murders."

The scene that bothered me the most, however, was the scene where the Sheriff returns to his town to form a new posse to go out after Jake and Steve. The dialogue in this scene is awkward; it seems too add-libbed and doesn't match with the feel of the movie. This type of overlapping dialogue gives a film a much more realistic feel; it's become a pretty popular technique in modern films, such as The Score, but seems very out of place in a traditional western.

Later on in the film, it was explained that Jake was once a "good guy" - he rode with a Marshall, hunting down killers and gunfighters. However, once he and the Marshall cornered a man who held a gun to the head of an innocent woman, saying he would kill her unless the lawmen let him get away. Jake told the Marshall to let the man go, that they would get him eventually. But the Marshall, determined to get his man, shot both killer and his hostage. Angry over this injustice, Jake killed the Marshall, making him a marked man. This scene is told in flashback, and there are a few awkward moments. There should have been a better reaction shot of the Marshall when Jake shot him - he just fell out of frame too quickly. Plus, the reason he killed the Marshall didn't quite seem good enough -- Jake may have been better justified if the Marshall was corrupt or if he killed a man he knew was innocent.


Unfortunately, Jake's luck with the ladies isn't any better...	...than his luck with the law or, anything else, for that matter.

The story does drag in a few places, which could possibly be fixed with some re-editing.

Despite some of the minor issues with writing and editing, the movie's ending is perfect! This film more closely resembles the spaghetti western, in which the hero usually doesn't ride away untouched into the sunset; and in this case it follows that formula perfectly. But I don't want to give it away -- just take my word that it's amazing.

Visual Look
I loved that this film was shot in black and white. For those who love the old-school westerns, it's a guilty pleasure to see another film that imitates this art form; especially in conjunction with the many wide panoramas of the beautiful western country, the look of this film really reminds me of the classic John Ford western. Yet one more example of how this film mixes the greater points of the two distinct styles.

The setting of the film is beautiful. The film was shot in Cody, Wyoming, and the natural western landscape is breathtaking. The filmmakers could have probably saved money by shooting in someone's backyard, but this film would have suffered beyond repair. The desert views make this movie amazing.

There are a few little visual elements that could perhaps be fixed. For example, Finney and Boyd are dressed very similarly, in addition to their long dark hair and black hats. It's somewhat hard to distinguish between them, although Finney's accept helps. Also, Stella and Annie May look similar, making it easy to confuse these characters in black and white.

There are a couple moments where sunspots can be seen on the screen, but it doesn't really distract too much from the look of the movie. There are also one or two scenes where the lighting didn't match - this is sometimes easier to hide in black and white, but there were a few places where the contrast changed and the scene looked greyer. This can normally be corrected with most editing software, like Final Cut Pro and Avid.