Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead is a film that embraces time-honored Western cliches with the same zeal and affection that elevates Quentin Tarantino's films from mere homages to original artistic creations. The Quick and the Dead is informed primarily by Spaghetti Westerns, particularly those of Sergio Leone. It follows a mysterious female shootist known as "The Lady" who one day enters the corrupt town of Redemption in order to get her revenge on John Herod, a ruthless outlaw responsible for the death of her father. To do so, she enters a quick-draw contest along with a menagerie of Western archetypes. These include a boastful trick shot performer, a Native American hungry for the blood of white men, an outlaw-turned-priest who is coerced by Herod into participating, a slick young buck of a gunslinger known as "the Kid," and a whole assortment of violent degenerates. Sharon Stone's performance as the Lady is serviceable and only truly becomes great during the moments when her character faces seemingly insurmountable fear and doubt over the prospect of killing the man responsible for destroying her life. Gene Hackman steals the entire film as John Herod. Herod's character is a villainous masterpiece: he is equal parts sympathetic, unsympathetic, charismatic, repulsive, and infuriating. It is impossible to watch Hackman in The Quick and the Dead without remembering his performance as Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven (1992). But if Little Bill is misunderstood and misinterpreted (both by audiences and by the other characters in the film), there is no gray area surrounding Herod. Herod is a monster. And believe me when I say that Hackman knew this and loved every minute that he played him onscreen.
8/10
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