Netflix's Revisionist Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel is a stylish and thrilling tale of vengeance.
The story of vengeance engulfs the Revisionist Western film, 'The Harder They Fall,' directed by Jeymes Samuel. Samuel co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin.
'The Harder They Fall' is one of the very few Westerns featuring an all-black lead cast.
The film draws inspiration from real cowboys, sheriffs, and outlaws of the 19th-century American West.
Here is everything that happened in 'The Harder They Fall.'
Prologue: 10-year-old Nat Love lives happily with his family. However, everything changed when a man with slick golden revolvers arrives. That sinister devil shoots Nat's father and mother, while another man with a scorpion tattoo on his hand grabs Nat's head. The man carves a cross on Nat's head with a razor but lets him live.
A few years past, a grown-up Nat (Jonathan Majors) seeks revenge. He finds the man with a scorpion tattoo, Jesus Cortez, in Salina, Texas, and kills him.
Nat spent years tracking down Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), the man who killed Nat's parents when he was young. Now that Cortez is dead and Rufus incarcerated, Nat thinks he finally had revenge. He goes to Douglastown to meet Stagecoach Mary, the love of his life. She manages a saloon in town and is a former member of the Nat Love Gang.
After killing the last member of Rufus' gang, Nat proposes to Mary for marriage. But their intimate moment gets interrupted by Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), who bears a piece of bad news. Bill and Jim Beckwourth robbed the Crimson Hood Gang, which operates for Rufus Buck. A surviving hood member tells Nat that Rufus is getting out of prison, and all the gangs plan to work with him.
Nat is disturbed by this information. He contacts Marshal Bass Reeves to help him attack Rufus and his town, Redwood. Nat's gang backs him up in a final battle with Rufu's gang.
Rufus Buck came a long way from creating a place for the Africans and Indians. He built his town named Redwood for these groups to thrive. However, Rufus is not the kind of person who would like to govern people. So, he turned over the responsibility to his most loyal friend, Wiley Escoe.
Marshal Bass Reeves wants to take down both Rufus and Wiley. To protect himself, Wiley betrayed his close friend, Rufus. He snitched on Rufus and earned a Sheriff's badge in exchange. While Rufus is behind bars, Wiley rules the town legally as the official Sheriff of Redwood.
Marshal Bass arrested Rufus and sent him to Yuma. He will then get transferred to Fort Smith, where the real Rufus Buck got hanged till death. Rufus' loyal henchmen, Trudy Smith (Regina King), strikes a deal with General George Pyrce. That granted Rufus and his associates' full pardon. In exchange, they killed an officiant of the law, Lieutenant General Abbott. Abbot and his men killed the entire town to loot silver. His government is ashamed of him. Hence, General George wanted to eliminate Abbott and his men. Abbot transfers Rufus from Yoma to Forth Smith so Rufus' men can attack the train and kill Abbott. Trudy, Cherokee Bill, and others freed Rufus, and he went back to Redwood. There, Rufus faced Wiley Escoe and expelled Wiley from the town.
Rufus wants to rebuild Red Wood, but that needs money, which Nat Love'sLove's gang stole while Rufus was in prison. Hence, a battle is inevitable.
Stagecoach Mary goes to the devil's land, thinking that Rufus and Trudy will not suspect her intentions as she is no longer part of Nat's gang. However, Rufus managed to pierce through her disguise. He figures out Nat and Mary's plan.
Trudy holds Mary hostage, and Nate comes to Redwood to rescue her. Rufus asked Nat to return the money they stole (25,000 dollars) and pay an additional ransom of 10,000 dollars in exchange for Mary. Helpless, Nat accepts the deal.
Although Nat is an outlaw, he does not like to steal money from banks and innocent people. He only robbed other outlaws. Rufus knew this side of him, so he teases Nat to rob a bank and forget his principles. Left with no choice, Nat robs the white town's' Maysville bank and steals the extra 10000 dollars. However, Nat knew that the sneaky Rufus would still kill Mary even if he got the money. That moment, Rufus' best friend turned nemesis, Wiley Escoe, came to Nat with weapons. The real Rufus Buck Gang is hiding weapons all across the place, enough to power a small army.
Nat and his gang stormed into Redwood, and an explosive and brutal battle ensues. Nat eventually defeated Rufus.
At the end of The Harder They Fall, Rufus opens up about his past to Nat. Rufus tells Nat that his father, who is also an outlaw, used to beat his mother. When he was 10, Rufus tried to protect his mother, and his father got even madder. When his father was about to hit Rufus back, his mother saved Rufus and attacked him with a bottle. His angry father killed his mother and left.
Rufus swore to avenge his mother's death and grew up to become an outlaw himself. He searched for his father, but when he found him, he already had a new family. His father became a completely different person. It turns out that after he killed Rufus's mother, he radically overhauled his life. He lived a pious life and changed his last name from Buck to Love. He had a church, a new wife, and a ten year-old-son, who turned out to be Nat Love. Rufus still wanted to get revenge. So, he killed his father, his new wife, and marked his new son, Nat Love.
Rufus revealed to Nat that he is his half-brother. He let Nat live because he wanted him to follow the path of vengeance and commit all the sins that his father tried to forget. It was the ultimate form of revenge for Rufus. Nat bursts into anger and emotions. As a result, he shoots his half-brother, Rufus Buck, until his barrels are empty.
The ring that Nat gave to Mary has a deeper significance in Nat and his half-brother's relationship. Nat told Mary that the ring originally belonged to his father, who gave it to his mother. We can deduce that the ring is the same ring that Rufus's father gave to his mom. Rufus considers it as the last memory of his mother. Rufus took the ring from Nat. But after Nat killed Rufus, he took the jewelry back.
During the gang war, Jim Beckwourth and Bill Pickett, who are members of Nat's gang, got killed. Nat Marshal Bass and Mary paid their tribute to their fallen comrade. Nat also put a fake memorial cross of himself to fake his death and leave the life of being an outlaw. That is why he told his name to the bank manager in Maysville because he has always planned to start a new life this way. Marshal Bass serves as the witness who will verify Nat's demise.
The gang disbanded. Cuffee becomes a sheriff, probably the first African American sheriff in the film's universe. Nat followed Stagecoach Mary, and they are likely going to start family life together.
Based on how the film ended, it seems like a sequel is possible. Mary did not kill Trudy during the brawl. The final scene sees Trudy Smith, who seems ready to take revenge on Nat and Mary. Trudy might track down Nat and Mary for revenge should there be a sequel.
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