The Quick and the Dead

There was a time I was at a party and people were sharing the trends we had in school. Someone asked “What about Tamagotchis?” and there was a collective sigh. Different people began making suggestions, and the pace and enthusiasm within the discussion sped up. Scribbling the “Cool S”. The Spice Girls. Asking yes/no erasers to answer questions. “And what about that time everyone went berzerk over centipede collecting.” The thread froze, and almost everyone turned to me. That was not the case for everyone.

And so imagine my surprise when I learned that a single copyright in different countries protects Quick and the Dead. I was visiting a friend’s house a couple of years ago and this friend happened to own the movie along with Mystic River and Ghost World. In my defense, I watched it as a child and I simply assumed that everyone else had the same experience. But then, when I casually dropped its name over the years, I usually received a blank glance in response.

I have no idea why The Quick and the Dead did not attract attention even though it features a talented cast, a good concept, and is very entertaining. There is always the theory that a particular movie is launched at the wrong time in history, like The Shawshank Redemption which was overshadowed by Forrest Gump, or the horror comedy Jennifer’s Body which was not appreciated until a couple of years later. Sharon Stone stars as the Lady in The Quick and the Dead, a woman who walks into a lawless town in the late 1800s with the intent to enter a gunfighter competition.

She claims that she is not after the cash prize, but rather intends to settle some personal grievances, the details of which are gradually disclosed throughout the film. The action concentrates on the contests when contestants engage in a series of duels, the contestants themselves including a ruthless bandit who is the local governor (Gene Hackman), a priest who voluntarily does not fire (Russell Crowe,) and a brash son of the local who just wants to impress his dad (Leonardo DiCaprio).

The Quick and the Dead is not a conventional Sam Raimi western although it is not exactly a satire either. It’s a bit ludicrous and low quality, reminiscent of a superhero film, if I may add. (For your information, Raimi directed the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy and is associated with the newest Marvel film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).

I must describe that I find it hugely amusing whenever I watch the film and this is precisely the reason why I decided to give it a shot again as I was quite interested in what my thoughts would be when I am watching it in the context I have presently. If I may say, this time, the Second Law was cooler than before. However, to an extent, I was left aghast by how Tom has failed to become the mainstream actor we all so desperately wanted him to be. Now, in terms of his on-screen performance, I wish I could actually disagree with the critic who said, “Sexually inert” to describe Joan’s role – so Stone mostly has only worked with a single type of character and is always annoyed with the interpretative side of the character. Furthermore, Stone contributed significantly to the film: she served as co-director and also insisted that Raimi be appointed as the director, in spite of the studio’s restraint to hire DiCaprio, she was even willing to cover the then 21-year-old’s paycheck.

New classics are made all the time, and the Quick and the Dead is an ideal example of this. It is a film that believably had a maximum growth potential, but then barely appeared in the Warner Bros noticed it.

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