Seraphim Falls is a 2007 film starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan. It was written by David Von Ancken and Abby Everett Jaques and directed by Von Ancken himself, in his first feature film. The film was released for limited screenings on January 26, 2007.
Plot
The film is set after the end of the American Civil War. Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) is hiding in the American Rockies, contemplating a fire. A shot pierces the silence and hits Gideon, who is then convulsed in pain and quickly runs away, followed by his pursuers. Soon the audience learns why: Gideon is a hunted man. Colonel Morsman Carver (Liam Neeson), a Confederate officer, has hired several mountain men to trap Gideon so that Carver can avenge a terrible wrong that he once committed.
From the snowy peaks, the story descends into the savannas—full of rapacious traders, vicious railway foremen and overly-welcoming missionaries—and moves finally into the desert, where the two men challenge each other in the face of Mother Nature at her harshest, with surreal visitations (from Louise C. Fair) to guide them to their final confrontation.
Cast
Pierce Brosnan as Gideon
- Liam Neeson as Carver: Like Brosnan, Neeson described being “kind of steeped in that western mythology growing up in Ireland.”[1] He likened his character, Carver, to Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick, “he’s [Carver] totally governed by this idea of revenge where he’s practically lost his humanity.”[1]
- Pierce Brosnan as Gideon: The role was originally to be played by Richard Gere but after he dropped out, Pierce Brosnan replaced him.[2] Brosnan spoke of his love of Western films during production and promotion of Seraphim Falls, which had stemmed from watching them in his childhood years.[3]
- Michael Wincott as Hayes
- Xander Berkely as Railroad Foreman
- Ed Lauter as Parsons
- Tom Noonan as Minister Abraham
- Kevin J. O’Connor as Henry
- John Robinson as Kid
- Anjelica Huston as Madame Louise: Huston first joined the cast in November 2005.[4] She appears as a vanishing snake-oil saleswoman, who appears at the end of the film. [5] If you pause the movie as her wagon rolls away you see her name upon the back as Louise C. Fair - Lucifer.
- Angie Harmon as Rose
- Robert Baker as Pope
- Wes Studi as Charon
- Jimmi Simpson as Big Brother
- James Jordan as Little Brother
- Nate Mooney as Cousin Bill
Production
The original teaser poster for Seraphim Falls.
David Von Ancken first researched the script for six months before joining Abby Everett Jaques to create the screenplay.[6] The film was originally announced at the Cannes Film Festival with Liam Neeson and Richard Gere in the lead roles. Gere dropped out in August 2005 and was soon replaced by Pierce Brosnan.[2] Shooting on Seraphim Falls started on October 17, 2005[7] and actress Anjelica Huston later joined the cast the following November.[4] The film was filmed on location for 48 days, primarily in New Mexico;[8] some of the opening scenes were filmed along the McKenzie River in Oregon.[9]
The soundtrack, composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, was produced at Bastyr University’s chapel in Kenmore, Washington.[10] Gregson-Williams wrote the music in three or four weeks, describing it as “very atmospheric”.[11] Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll was responsible for cinematography work on the film. Toll later noted it was a “great opportunity to work with a director who was interested in visual storytelling.”[12]
Reception
The film gained average reviews with several praising both Brosnan and Neeson’s acting. Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times noted that the two “make fine adversaries”[13]; however, Michael Rechtshaffen of the New York Times thought that they were “hard-pressed to inject some much-needed vitality into their sparse lines.”[14]
On film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Seraphim Falls has a 54% rating from 80 reviews,[15] - indicating a ‘rotten’ status - while it has a Metacritic score of 62% based on 21 reviews[16] - indicating ‘generally favorable reviews’. As of April 2008, it has amounted 6.9 out of 10 on the IMDB from 5,311 votes.[17]
| Directed by | David Von Ancken |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Bruce Davey David Flynn John Limotte Stan Wlodkowski |
| Written by | David Von Ancken Abby Everett Jaques |
| Starring | Pierce Brosnan Liam Neeson Anjelica Huston |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | John Toll |
| Editing by | Conrad Buff |
| Distributed by | Icon Productions |
| Release date(s) |  January 26 2007 |
| Running time | 115 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
