Frontier Crucible
"Frontier Crucible" could’ve been a crackerjack genre exercise at 90 minutes, but feels interminable at 125.
Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I like a good Western, but when an oater’s a groaner it feels as though the filmmakers made a big ol’ boner. “Frontier Crucible” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, Dec. 5) ain’t quite that bad, but it’s also not very good.
Myles Clohessy stars as Merrick Beckford, a former soldier with a tragic past who’s tasked with transporting a wagon full of medical supplies to an outpost by Major O’Rourke (William H. Macy, in what amounts to a one-scene cameo).
Beckford must traverse the treacherous Apache Trail in order to complete his assignment and was selected for the job due to his alliance with the native tribe. During his journey he encounters fellow travelers who weren’t so fortunate. They are father-son outlaw duo Mule (Thomas Jane, channeling Walter Brennan) and Billy (Ryan Masson), their cohort Edmund (Armie Hammer, acting in a movie for the first time in almost four years), injured husband Jeff (Eli Brown) and his lovely and protective wife Valerie (Mary Stickley).
Their wagon and horses have been burnt by the Apache. Beckford stops and offers assistance, but his priorities clash with those of these waylaid individuals. The outlaws want to procure Beckford’s wagon for their own means and Jeff and Valerie want him to return to his starting point. Beckford just wants to see his mission through to its completion.
Tensions escalate when Billy stupidly shoots an Apache scout (Joshua Odjick, he played Collie Parker #48 in the recent “The Long Walk” adaptation) for no apparent reason. The whole group will now have to answer to the Apache chief (Eddie Spears) and face their titular Frontier Crucible.
“Frontier Crucible” is directed by Travis Mills and is an adaptation of Harry Whittington’s 1961 novel “Desert Stake-Out.” Rumor has it controversial filmmaker S. Craig Zahler (“Bone Tomahawk”) ghost wrote the screenplay and that makes a whole helluva lot of sense as this feature feels a whole heckuva lot like a Temu knockoff of that one.
There’s a lot about “Frontier Crucible” that I admired – the performances are generally pretty good and the Arizona landscapes sure are pretty as lensed by cinematographer Maxime Alexandre (he shot “Until Dawn” earlier this year). I also really liked the original songs by Sean Rowe even if I feel as though they’d be better served on their own. (Maybe it’s because I just watched “Garfield’s Thanksgiving,” but the tracks kinda reminded me of Lou Rawls’ tunes from that fat cat’s toons and they similarly/strangely seem to comment on on-screen action.)
Where the picture stumbles terribly is in its length. This could’ve been a crackerjack genre exercise at 90 minutes, but it feels interminable at 125. Also, were I Hammer I would’ve wanted to switch roles with Clohessy (they bear more than a passing resemblance to one another and this is the part Hammer would’ve played 10 years ago). Frankly, it’s somewhat unsettling to watch an accused rapist play an attempted rapist.