June 17

The second June Swoon film of the day is one that had quite a tragic lead up until release. There was an accidental shooting with a gun with blanks that led to the death of the cinematographer of the film that caused a ton of negative press and a controversy in the political world. After charges were dropped against star Alec Baldwin, the decision was made to finish the film for release.

According to IMDB, “An orphaned boy of 13 left to fend for himself and his younger brother in 1880s Wyoming is sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher. His estranged grandfather breaks him out of jail and they go on the run to Mexico.”

Ignoring the backstage drama and tragedy that engulfed the movie prior to its release, I thought Rust was a pretty decent Western. Starring Alec Baldwin as Harlan Rust and Patrick Scott McDermott as Harlan’s grandson Lucas, Rust was beautifully shot and featured some solid performances from the cast.

Alec Baldwin and Patrick Scott McDermott had a nice pairing, working very well with one another. The strength of the grandfather/grandson relationship was at the heart of this film. Harlan was a notorious criminal and killer across the Western parts of the United States during the 1880s. He arrived to save Lucas from being hanged for the accidental shooting of a man.

Lucas did not know who Harlan was and their slow development of their relationship was well done and well acted. Throw in the constant pressures and dangers of being pursued by bounty hunters and the law and Harlan and Lucas had to face plenty of obstacles.

In the genre of the Western, Rust is not going to provide anything new and special, but had everything that a Western should have.

The imagery of the Old West looked spectacular in the film and the landscapes of the time were portrayed beautifully by the filmmakers.

Over all I thought this was a decent film. It took some time to set up and would be considered a slow burn, but I was never bored and I did enjoy the central relationship at Rust’s core.

3.85 stars