Heather Graham is Pandora Meadows, living on an isolated farm with her teenage daughter Hester (Brielle Robillard), 95 miles from the nearest town.
She and her husband built there to escape the “foul” outside world. Her husband has since died, but Pandora has no intention of leaving their homestead.
Then that foul world finds them. Heather discovers a wounded man lying in the tall grass near her father’s grave. The saddlebags lying near him are filled with money.
Pandora suspects that means trouble. When Dalton Calhoun comes to, he confirms as much.
He stole the loot from his bank robbing partners. In the shootout that ensued, he believes all three partners were killed.
But he also suspects the brother of one of those men — the brutal Bear John — will be looking for vengeance. And he suggests Pandora and Hester might want to be elsewhere when Bear John and his men come calling.
Pandora decides to defend her land and daughter instead. But that becomes more difficult when Hester slips off in the middle of the night to retrieve rifles and ammunition from the scene of the shootout Calhoun survived so that she and her mom can better defend themselves.
Heather Graham as Pandora Meadows, talking to her husband at his grave site in Place of Bones (2023)
Brielle Robillard as Hester Meadows, delighted to have an edifying conversation with a men, even if he’s an outlaw, in Place of Bones (2023)
Review:
A well-done Western featuring a strong lead performance by Heather Graham.
She’s a religious frontier woman who has imported stained glass windows for her meager home and scolds her daughter for not speaking proper English.
But she’s tough enough to threaten to slit the throat of the outlaw she takes into her home and, more importantly, have him believe she’d carry through on the threat. Just watch him squirm when he sees Graham’s character fetch a pitchfork from her barn.
Corin Nemec plays the outlaw and Brielle Robillard plays the daughter Graham tries to protect. Both are a delight. Okay, Nemec is a bit over-the-top as the foul-mouthed, yarn-spinning outlaw. But he’s over-the-top in a fun way.
As Hester, Robillard is fascinated with the chance to meet someone from the outside world, even if he’s an outlaw. But she’s feisty too. Check out the smile on her face when she realizes her rifle shot hit the mark.
Oh, and there’s an ending you probably won’t see coming.
Corin Nemec as Dalton Calhoun, trying to order Pandora Meadows around in Place of Bones (2023)
Tom Hopper as Bear John, determined to recover bank loot and avenge the death of a double-crossed brother in Place of Bones (2023)
Directed by:
Audrey Cummings
Cast:
Heather Graham … Pandora Meadows
Tom Hopper … Bear John
Corin Nemec … Dalton Calhoun
Brielle Robillard … Hester Meadows
Donald Cerrone … Minor Wilson
Gattlin Griffith … Cherokee Jack
Zachary Keller … Little Pee
Ray Abruzzo … Lester
David Lipper … Ed Singletary
Jeanette Schock … Sadie
Isabella Blake-Thomas … Lilith
Runtime: 94 min.
Gattlin Griffith as Cherokee Jack, realizing Pandora has given the outlaw gang a saddlebag full of books and a doll in Place of Bones (2023)
Donald Cerrone as Minor Wilson, one of the members of Bear John’s gang in Place of Bones (2023)
Memorable lines:
Pandora, when her daughter complains about being hungry: “Patience is a virtue, Hester. The Lord will provide.”
Hester: “I’d be real grateful if he’d provide something soon.”
Dalton Calhoun, after cussing in front of the women: “Pardon my crooked tongue. It’s been some time since I’ve been around genteel company like yourselves.”
Hester, asked to run an errand for her mom: “Mr. Calhoun, please don’t say nothin’ else edifying until I get back.”
Pandora, correcting her daughter’s English yet again: “Anything else.”
Zachary Keller as Little Pete, a member of the Bear John gang in Place of Bones (2023)
Corin Nemec, using a pitchfork as a crutch and realizing how stubborn Pandora is going to be in Place of Bones (2023)
Hester, when Calhoun raises a fuss over the treatment for his wounds: “We didn’t hurt him. He’s the one who got himself shot.”
Pandora: “Well, he’s angry like most men. And like most men, he’ll never accept the trouble he’s gotten into was caused entirely by himself.”
Dawson Calhoun, about John Bear: “If he finds out that somebody left a slug in his brother’s guts … well, he’s likely to want to exact a level of revenge that I don’t quite care to contemplate.”
Dalton Calhoun: “You are a hard woman, Pandora Meadows. A stick of dynamite wouldn’t crack your shell.”
Pandora, when her daughter slips off to find rifles Calhoun says they need to protect the homestead: “I hold you personally responsible for her safety. If she doesn’t come back, I’m gonna slit your stomach and watch you bleed out.”
Brielle Robillard as Hester Meadows, thrilled to see one of her bullets find its mark in Place of Bones (2023)
Heather Graham as Pandora Meadows, forced to defend her home with the help of an outlaw in Place of Bones (2023)
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