Kirk Harris plays Roger Hazzard, a widower who takes his teenage son Casper (Ryan Ballance) prospecting in the post-Civil War West.
One day while hunting, they come across the bodies of three slain miners.
Next, they come across Sheriff Sawyer, who tells them an outlaw named Father Bill and his gang might be in the area.
Now more wary, the father and son team continue their search for gold, finally finding a trace in a stream bed.
But the good fortune doesn’t last for long.
Because as Casper works to fill a small pouch of gold, he fears his father is slowly losing touch with reality, arguing with a tree and imagining outlaws and Indians who are nowhere to be seen.
Roger Hazzard is even getting less and less trusting of his own son.
Kirk Harris as Roger Hazard, wondering if he can trust his own son after finding gold in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
Ryan Ballance as Casper Hazard, worried his father is losing his grasp on reality in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
Review:
First off, don’t let the DVD cover or the film title fool you. There’s barely a gunfight in the film. And Madsen, featured on the cover, plays only a supporting role, as Sheriff Sawyer.
But don’t let it fool you in this way either: Madsen has guest starred in a couple of Grade Z Western turkeys. This isn’t one of them. Though the original title — “The Sorrow” — was definitely more fitting.
The tone is decidedly bleak, but the director and cast do their best to stage an interesting character study on what must have been a shoe-string budget.
Kirk Harris is effective as the father haunted by his wife’s suicide and a war with the Indians. So is Ryan Ballance as the conflicted son who really has no interest in mining, but a sense of loyalty to the only parent he has left.
Michael Madsen as Sheriff Sawyer, telling tales about Father Bill in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2013)
Yvonne Delarosa as Maria Hazard, shocked by her son’s gift in a flashback scene in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
Directed by:
Vernon E. Mortensen
Cast:
Kirk Harris … Roger Hazzard
Ryan Ballance … Casper Hazzard
Michael Madsen … Sheriff Sawyer
John Savage … Father Bill
Yvonne Delarosa … Maria Hazzard
Ruben Chato Hinojosa … Yellow Bear
aka:
The Sorrow
Song:
“This Time,” written by John Coda, sung by Quincy Coleman
John Savage as Father Bill, notorious for stealing other people’s gold finds in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
Yvonne Delarosa as Maria Hazard, looking for her son’s understanding of a tragic decision in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2013)
Memorable lines:
Sawyer to Casper: “You’re daddy’s a good man, a God-fearing man. Been through a war. Somebody goes through a war, they change a little. They’re not the same as everybody else. And let’s face it, from the beginning, we all knew he wasn’t all there. Who is? Maybe I’m not all there. Maybe you’re not all there. Maybe he’s got it all figured out, more than any of the three of us. Who knows?”
Kirk Harris as Roger Hazard, giving his son orders after injuring his leg in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
Ryan Ballance as Casper Hazard, surviving a mine collapse to find another potential problem in A Sierra Nevada Gunfight (2012)
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