Outlaws and Angels

Interesting Western brought down by tedious overlength and disgusting vileness

In the New Mexico Territory, a gang of bank robbers holds up at the parsonage of a minister & his family as a posse tries to catch up with them. Even if the thugs make it to Mexico, who will survive?

"Outlaws and Angels” (2016) is cut from the same cloth as Tarantino Westerns “Django Unchained” (2012) and “The Hateful Eight” (2015), but with even less of a budget than “Bone Tomahawk” (2015), amazingly only costing $1,150,000. I say “amazingly” because the production values are quite good. In other words, the writer/director knew what he was doing.

The people look and talk like folks living in the challenging desert wilderness of the Old West, which harkens back to the ugly depiction of the Old West in “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid” (1972) and “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid” (1973). Meanwhile the plot is as old as Westerns like “Rawhide” (1951).

This is an interesting morality tale that covers everything from greed, lust, drunkard-ness, cowardly condoning, envy, hate and murder. It’s not “anti-Christian,” as some devout people have claimed in knee-jerk fashion. Rather, it’s anti-hypocrisy. When parents don’t live according to their own Judeo-Christian values they become fakes, which naturally causes rebellion in the kids.

The beautiful Francesca Eastwood is a highlight with Madisen Beaty and Teri Polo being effective. Chad Michael Murray, Luke Wilson and the other three male actors in the main cast are well cast and convincing.

Unfortunately, it’s all brought down by unnecessary scenes that pad the runtime, not to mention wallow in gross depravity for no ostensibly reason. For instance, the puke-inducing jack-someone-off sequence and the perverted nod to “Deliverance” (1972). I thought this was a Western, not a sick porn flick?

“Less is more” is a proverb for good reason.

The film runs 2 hours and was shot in Santa Fe and Albuquerque in north-central New Mexico.

GRADE: C-/D+