Part action thriller, part Western romance, Cowboy is a film with wide appeal and slow-burning storytelling. Nathan Grubbs is both director and star (as Juno Jackson) of this independent movie, with its country music beats and predictable plot.
It’s a very watchable film with nice performances from Grubbs and Alexandra Essoe (Eve), with Laura Cayouette (Aunt Ira), Larry Fessenden (Rip), and Eddie Steeples (Crane) good in support. There are clear bad guys, and Juno himself is given shades of grey just enough to be believable.
Cowboy is about regret, retribution, revenge, and redemption. We go into it knowing the whole story – which adds something to the telling – but it perhaps teers a little too far into the romance angle to truly satisfy those who prefer a brawl or shoot-out.
The cinematography captures the facets of the open road and ranches where adventurers like Juno – war veterans without a base – wander and live life as well as they can. Small towns where secrets move with the breeze and grudges are cleanly held.
The romantic angle, which takes up the majority of the film, grows organically without it being forced. The names of Juno – the protector – and Eve – the life-giver – are clearly significant in the story (screenplay by Jeff Hoffman and Joshua Dietz).
Grubbs has also assembled a soundtrack of country songs to frame the narrative and offer an emotional core that offers its own comment on the modern American west of men, machismo, and money.
Cowboy is a modern tragedy, a parable of man transcending the path his choices originally made for him, and creating his own legend. When that happens, you print it, and you hope it is how you’re remembered.
Cowboy was at the Raindance Film Festival last month.