Lawman (1971)
This western as many other westerns do, with a group of bandits riding into town and shooting aimlessly at everything just for the heck of it. By accident, an old man is killed by a stray bullet. A “man of the law” rides into town with the goal of bringing justice for the murder of the innocent. The men involved in the shootout all work for a wealthy cattle owner, and the town is hoping for a peaceful resolution. While the men involved in the shooting aren’t exactly good people, the marshal played by Burt Lancaster is resolute in his code of justice to the extreme. Instead of trying to decrease the level of conflict, he constantly seeks way to increase it and provoke others into a duel. Which he always wins because he follows the overused western trope of being the fastest draw in the west. Over the course of the movie the body count increases, and while you are inclined to start out with a feeling of resentment towards the men shooting mindlessly, the lawman doesn’t exactly invoke sympathy either. It questions the purpose of justice when it lacks any sort of de-escalation or compassion. That said, while the core of the story and its themes are interesting with its reversal on traditional western movie messages, the directing is lacking. It is frankly a tad boring and lacks atmosphere, even though it looks properly gritty and dusty.
Rating: 3