As I settled in to watch “Jane Got a Gun,” I fully expected an action-packed western starring a woman who could kick some butt.
Though the movie did not meet that expectation, I was pulled in by the slew of questions that were raised within the exposition. Over the course of the movie, all of my questions were answered, albeit slowly. I did get a taste of action I was looking for, but it took a backseat to the movie’s romantic plot line.
Actress Natalie Portman plays hardened Jane Hammond, wife of former outlaw Bill “Ham” Hammond who is portrayed by actor Noah Emmerich. Not long after the movie begins, Ham arrives home riddled with bullet holes and announces to Jane that “the Bishop boys are coming.”
The Bishop boys are a gang of violent outlaws who have been hunting Jane and Ham for years. A cruel but handsome man, John Bishop is the charismatic leader of the gang, portrayed wonderfully by Ewan McGregor.
With Ham out of commission and the gang on its way, Jane leaves her young daughter Katie with a trustworthy neighbor and is forced to enlist the help of her ex-fiancé, played by Joel Edgerton, to defend her husband, herself and her home from the approaching gang.
Director Gavin O’Connor’s chosen form of addressing the questions posed throughout “Jane Got a Gun” came in the form of flashbacks. Without the added mystery raised by my natural curiosity, I might not have finished the movie.
The movie’s genre is listed as an American action western, but I think that’s a stretch because the love story it told seemed to take precedent. It wasn’t mushy-gushy, which was refreshing. In the end, I enjoyed the movie, but only after I let go of my “super action-packed” expectation.
