Purgatory (1999 film)
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| Purgatory | |
|---|---|
_DVD.jpg) | |
| Written by | Gordon T. Dawson |
| Directed by | Uli Edel |
| Starring | Sam Shepard Eric Roberts Randy Quaid Brad Rowe Donnie Wahlberg J. D. Souther Amelia Heinle |
| Theme music composer | Brad Fiedel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Daniel Schneider |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | TNT |
| Release | January 10, 1999 |
Purgatory, also known as Purgatory West of the Pecos, is a 1999 western fantasy film directed by Uli Edel.[1][2]
Plot
An outlaw band, led by Blackjack Britton (Eric Roberts) and Cavin Guthrie (Peter Stormare), rob a bank. During the subsequent gunfight, a woman, Dolly Sloan (Shannon Kenny), is shot and dies in the arms of Cavin's nephew Sonny (Brad Rowe), a young member of the gang who is the lookout and appears to still have a conscience. The gang flees and is pursued by a posse. After passing through a dust storm, they enter a tunnel, emerging at the other end into verdant pastures around the town of Refuge.
In this town, no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears (except in the saloon). Also, whenever the town's church bell sounds, all of the residents flock to the church without question.
Sonny seems to think he has seen some of the residents before, but he is unable to remember where. He becomes very puzzled when a stagecoach arrives at night with a woman who is identical to Dolly Sloan (Shannon Kenny), who died in his arms, when they robbed the bank in Sweetwater. Meanwhile, the rest of the outlaw gang begin to cause mayhem and threaten the destruction of the town; but the men of Refuge seem unwilling to resist them. At one point a young woman, Rose (Amelia Heinle), who has become the object of Sonny's love, is threatened by the gang; and he is seen by the men of Refuge as willing to lay down his life to save her.
Sonny finds out that the town of Refuge is actually a kind of purgatory; and the faces that he thought he recognized were in fact such well-known people such as Doc Holliday (Randy Quaid), Wild Bill Hickok (Sam Shepard), Jesse James (J. D. Souther), and Billy the Kid (Donnie Wahlberg), who were known to be dead, but who are now spending ten years in Refuge before being admitted to Heaven. During this time, they must avoid all violence and resist the temptations they succumbed to in life. If they fail, the penalty is to enter Hell immediately (in fact, the movie shows a former gunfighter — now a farmer (John Dennis Johnston) — being sent to Hell for killing one of Blackjack's henchmen). In particular, Wild Bill Hickok - the current sheriff - has only 24 hours to go until his ten-year sentence is up, explaining why there was no resistance to the gang.
While most of the townspeople, anticipating an imminent attack from Blackjack's gang, go into hiding (since they believe retaliating would send them to Hell for the violating terms of their time in Refuge), Sonny stands alone in the main street against the gang to protect Rose. The men of the town realize that all their time in Refuge has been spent worrying about their own lives, while "here's this green kid willing to give his life for the woman he loves." Rather than see evil triumph, the men arm themselves and join Sonny, even though this apparently means they abandon all hope of Heaven. The evil outlaws, who had viewed the men of the town as cowards, are now amazed to confront these famous names. Though outnumbered, the men of Refuge triumph after a classic shoot-out, during which Sonny is mortally wounded and in turn becomes a resident of Refuge; Blackjack is the last to die in a quick draw against Wild Bill. Blackjack and his men are all thrown into Hell.
The men of Refuge are now convinced they will also be condemned to Hell. As they are led away by the Gatekeeper (Saginaw Grant), the stagecoach arrives from Heaven. The Driver (R.G. Armstrong) explains to them, "The Creator may be tough, but He ain't blind". The men, by standing up to evil and giving up their lives for the other townspeople, acted with honor and courage; rather than being condemned to Hell, they will be taken to Heaven. Sonny asks to remain in Refuge, to be with Rose. Wild Bill gives Sonny the sheriff's star and bids him farewell. The final scene is the stagecoach being bathed in light as it approaches Heaven.
Cast
- Sam Shepard as Sheriff Forrest/Wild Bill Hickok
- Eric Roberts as Blackjack Britton
- Randy Quaid as Doc Woods/Doc Holliday
- Peter Stormare as Cavin Guthrie
- Brad Rowe as Leon "Sonny" Miller
- Donnie Wahlberg as Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid
- J. D. Souther as Brooks/Jesse James
- Amelia Heinle as Rose/Betty McCullough
- Shannon Kenny as Dolly Sloan/Ivy
- John Dennis Johnston as Lamb/"Lefty" Slade
- Saginaw Grant as the Gatekeeper
- R.G. Armstrong as the Stagecoach Driver
External links
- ^ Humphreys, Keigh (18 September 2015). "Weekend Film Recommendation ***With Interview of Star Brad Rowe***: Purgatory". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ Paul Green (25 February 2016). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4766-2402-0.