Introduction

Seraphim Falls is a 2006 American revisionist Western film directed by television producer and director David Von Ancken in his only feature film. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Von Ancken and Abby Everett Jaques.

The fictional story focuses on a bounty hunt for a Union soldier by a Confederate colonel following the American Civil War in the late 1860s. Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Michael Wincott, Tom Noonan, and Ed Lauter star in principal roles. Seraphim Falls explores civil topics, such as violence, human survival and war.

Outline

In 1868, within the Ruby Mountains, Gideon roasts hare over an open fire. Gunshots ring out and he is shot in the left arm. He grabs what he can and races down the mountain. His attackers emerge to inspect his campsite. Colonel Morsman Carver, a former Confederate officer, is accompanied by Pope, Hayes, Parsons and the Kid. Carver has hired the others to hunt down Gideon.

Gideon removes the bullet with a Bowie knife while hiding from Carver. Leaving a fire burning to attract the posse, he kills Pope with his knife then ventures into the wilderness again. When he attempts to steal a horse, a young woman named Charlotte catches him. She then helps him after seeing he is injured, dressing his wound and her family let him sleep overnight in their cabin. He later buys their horse and leaves before daybreak.

As the group of men approach Gideon’s trail, he ambushes them with a bear trap impaling the Kid, who Carver then shoots out of mercy. Later, discovering a dead bank robber Gideon had killed earlier in self-defense, Parsons leaves the others as the dead man’s bounty exceeds what Carver is offering to capture Gideon. As Parsons is preparing to load the body onto a horse to take it to Carson City for the reward, Carver shoots the horse – which he declares is his – leaving Parsons to walk the 30 miles back to town carrying the body.

Coming across a railroad under construction, Gideon hitches his horse and steals food. The foreman recognises the horse as stolen and detains him. Carver and his remaining man, Hayes, also reach the railroad site and search for Gideon. Meanwhile, he escapes, stealing another horse.

As Carver and Hayes draw closer, Gideon’s horse collapses from the heat. Gideon euthanizes it by slitting its throat. Carver and Hayes reach the horse’s carcass, and Hayes marvels at how Gideon disembowelled the horse. Gideon leaps out from within the horse’s belly, and puts his knife to Hayes’ neck, threatening to kill him if Carver does not give up his gun.

Carver instead shoots Hayes with his last bullet. Confronting each other, he and Gideon recall the events that put them at odds. After the end of the American Civil War, Gideon was ordered to track down former Confederate officers. When he arrived at Carver’s home in Seraphim Falls to interrogate him, Carver was out in a nearby field.

To coerce Carver’s wife into revealing his whereabouts, and believing their house was empty, Gideon orders their barn to be set on fire. A soldier searching the house carelessly knocks over a kerosene lantern. The blaze quickly spreads as Carver returns from the fields.

While the soldiers restrain him, his wife and son run into the house to save the infant inside. Both men look on with horror at the unfolding tragedy; trapped by the flames, Carver’s wife and children perish. Gideon, racked with guilt over it, drops his gun belt and walks away from his men.

The two men fight, Gideon eventually getting the better of Carver. He points him towards a nearby town and tells him that he will get nothing but torment if he continues his pursuit. Gideon takes Carver and Hayes’ horses and sets off deep into the desert.

They both find a rare pool of water, guarded by the Indian Charon, who extracts dear payment from both men so they might continue their journeys. Both are visited by the mystical Madame Louise, who offers them a Faustian bargain: to trade survival items (Gideon’s horse, Carver’s water) for something that will perpetuate their feud (a bullet for Gideon, a gun for Carver).

When Carver catches up with Gideon, both are on the brink of exhaustion and death. Confronting each other again with their pistols, Gideon wounds Carver. However, instead of killing him with his knife, he offers himself to him. Carver decides not to shoot him and throws his pistol aside. Gideon helps Carver to his feet and the two men walk in different directions into the distance. As a final gesture Gideon discards his knife (his weapon of choice throughout the film).

Cast

• Liam Neeson as Colonel Morsman Carver: Like Brosnan, Neeson described being “kind of steeped in that western mythology growing up in Ireland.” He likened his character, Carver, to Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick, “he’s [Carver] totally governed by this idea of revenge where he’s practically lost his humanity.”
• Pierce Brosnan as Gideon: The role was originally to be played by Richard Gere but after he dropped out, Pierce Brosnan replaced him. Brosnan spoke of his love of Western films during production and promotion of Seraphim Falls, which had stemmed from watching them as a child in Ireland.
• Michael Wincott as Hayes
• Xander Berkeley as McKenzy, a railway foreman.
• Ed Lauter as Parsons
• Tom Noonan as Minister Abraham
• Kevin J. O’Connor as Henry
• John Robinson as Kid
• Anjelica Huston as Madame Louise, a vanishing con artist (and possible religious allegory), who figures in the end of the film. Huston first joined the cast in November 2005.
• Angie Harmon as Rose
• Robert Baker as Pope
• Wes Studi as Charon
• Jimmi Simpson as Big Brother
• James Jordan as Little Brother
• Nate Mooney as Cousin Bill
• Shannon Zeller as Charlotte
• Adon Cravens as Nathaniel
• Boots Southerland as Tall Henchman

Production

David Von Ancken first researched the script for six months before joining Abby Everett Jaques to create the screenplay. The film was originally announced at the Cannes Film Festival with Liam Neeson and Richard Gere in the lead roles. Gere dropped out in August 2005 and was soon replaced by Pierce Brosnan. Shooting on Seraphim Falls started on 17 October 2005 and actress Anjelica Huston later joined the cast the following November. The film was filmed on location for 48 days, primarily in New Mexico; some of the opening scenes were filmed along the McKenzie River, including at Sahalie Falls, in Oregon.

Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll was responsible for cinematography work on the film. Toll later noted it was a “great opportunity to work with a director who was interested in visual storytelling.”

Music

The soundtrack, composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, was produced at Bastyr University’s chapel in Kenmore, Washington. Gregson-Williams wrote the music in three or four weeks, describing it as “very atmospheric”. However, a CD soundtrack version of the film’s score was never released to the public. The sound effects in the film were supervised by Kami Asgar. The mixing of the sound elements were orchestrated by William Sarokin and mastered by Steve Maslow.

Release

Box Office

The film premiered in cinemas on 26 January 2007, in limited release throughout the US. During its opening weekend, the film opened in a distant 42nd place grossing $155,560 in business showing at 52 locations. The comedy film, Epic Movie came in first place during that weekend grossing $18,612,544. The film’s revenue dropped by 49% in its second week of release, earning $79,181. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 48th place screening in 48 theatres. The film The Messengers, unseated Epic Movie to open in first place grossing $14,713,321 in box office revenue. During its final weekend in release, Seraphim Falls opened in 73rd place with $10,526 in revenue. The film went on to top out domestically at $418,296 in total ticket sales through a 6-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $801,762 in box office business for a combined worldwide total of $1,220,058. For 2007 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 276.

Home Media

The film was released on DVD in the United States on 15 May 2007. Currently, there are several European Blu-ray releases of the film, although it is also available in other media formats such as video on demand.

Trivia

• Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan said they had the most fun in their career making this film.
  • They loved westerns as kids, and were thrilled to finally to be in one.
• Xander Berkeley is an American who plays an Irishman.
  • Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan are Irishmen who play Americans.
  • Anjelica Huston lived in Ireland for a lot of her youth, and holds Irish citizenship.
• Colonel Carver’s rifle in the film is an iron-framed Henry 1860, which indicates that it was one of the first four hundred built, before the more familiar brass was added in late 1862.
• Although the story takes place in Nevada, no scenes were filmed there.
  • Actual filming locations include Oregon, California, and Arizona, all of which border the state of Nevada.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • David Von Ancken
• Producer(s):
  • Bruce Davey … producer
  • David Flynn … producer
  • John Limotte … co-producer
  • Stan Wlodkowski … executive producer
• Writer(s):
  • David Von Ancken
  • Abby Everett Jaques
• Music:
  • Harry Gregson-Williams
• Cinematography:
  • John Toll … director of photography
• Editor(s):
  • Conrad Buff IV … (as Conrad Buff)
• Production:
  • Icon Productions
• Distributor(s):
  • Icon Film Production (UK) (theatrical)
• Release Date: 13 September 2006 (Toronto International Film Festival, Canada).
• Running Time: 115 minutes.
• Rating: 15.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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