James Conners is just a young boy when his father is shot dead while painting the church he’s built in the town of Legend.
His father had just argued with town boss Will Tunney over payments on the deed to the property; Tunney threatened to have him evicted.
When Tunney sees a shadow of the preacher raising a hammer, he thinks it’s a gun, spins and shoots. But he claims the killing was in self-defense, and he has witnesses to back up his claim.
Outraged over the law’s failure to punish Tunney (Angus Macfadyen) and shamed by his own inaction when he follows Tunney into a saloon seeking vengeance, James decides to strike out on his own after saying goodbye to his young love, Mary Cooper.
Years later, after serving in the Civil War, James (Justin Ament) returns to Legend. He’s a bounty hunter now, and he’s hunting Tunney for a different killing.
Tunney’s been elected mayor , and he’s a crooked mayor, gobbling up land because he knows the railroad is coming to Legend. But James succeeds in arresting him and having him thrown off in jail. Then he quickly weds Mary (Marnie Alton).
But Tunney doesn’t stay arrested long and returns in time to spoil their honeymoon.
This time, if James wants vengeance, he’ll need help from two Indians – Washakie and Miakoda — he saved from a life on a reservation.
Justin Ament as James Conners, returning to Legend as a bounty hunter in Shadowheart (2009)
Angus Macfadyen as Will Tunney, arguing he shot a preacher in self defense in Shadowheart (2009)
Review:
Well, Angus Macfadyen certainly turns in a spirited performance as Tunney, the villain of the piece. He’s so over-the-top unlikeable that it’s impossible to believe the residents of Legend would elect him as anything. His performance throws this film out of balance, especially since our hero isn’t exactly the charismatic type.
We’re also served up a dressed-all-in-black gunman named Spider who seems to come right out of a Western comic book. That part is played by the film’s director. And then there’s the very strange coincidence that the two Indians that Conners once helped just happen to stumble upon him when he’s wounded and dying so that they can nurse him back to health.
It all sets the stage for a final showdown where the big question is whether James will seek vengeance and risk a reunion with Mary in the after-life or whether he’ll show Tunney mercy and remember his father’s dying words: “Forgive men their sins and the Almighty will forgive you yours” and the warning that no good can come from revenge.
Director Dean Alioto and company serve up a couple of touching and a couple of memorable moments. They also serve up an ending that will likely make you groan.
Marnie Alton as Mary Cooper finding a stranger in her home in Shadowheart (2009)
Shawn Reaves as Johnny Cooper, working in the livery his late father owned in Shadowheart (2009)
Directed by:
Dean Alioto
Cast:
Angus Macfadyen … Will Tunney
Justin Ament … James Conners
Marnie Alton … Mary Cooper
Tonantzin Carmelo … Miakoda
Michael Spears … Washakie
William Sadler … Thomas Conners
Dean Alioto … Spider
Ines Dali … Velma
Anthony Michael Jones … Charlie
Courtney Gains … Finch
Shawn Reaves … Johnny Cooper
Charles Napier … Sheriff Sanders
Daniel Baldwin … Mr. T.S. McKinley
Steve Pink … O’Toole
Rance Howard … Preacher
Runtime: 114 min.
Tonantzin Carmelo as Miakoda, one of the Indians James befriends in Shadowheart (2009)
Memorable lines:
James’ dad: “You know King James almost as well as I do. Do you understand it?”
Young James: “If I did, we wouldn’t need preachers.”
James’ dad: “Rusty was a patient man. He gave me time to pay (the deed) off.”
Tunney: “I’ve never been one for that whole patience thing. It just kind of slows down the future.”
James Conners, on his return to Legend: “Mary, I seen too many terrible things. Terrible things no god could just stand by and watch. Man is on his own.”
Mary Cooper: “How can you say that, James? Your father was a preacher.”
James, sarcastically: “And God really favored him.”
Miakoda, counseling James: “We have all suffered a great loss. But it is the valleys we learn from, not the hills.”
Tunney to James Conners: “Can you find a little forgiveness for me in your heart before I blow a hole in it?”
Dean Alioto as Spider, henchman for Will Tunney in Shadowheart (2009)
Ines Dali as Velma, the prostitute jealous over Tunney’s affection for Mary in Shadowheart (2009)
Steve Pink as O’Toole and Tommy Giavocchini as Griffiths, surveyors convinced to route the railroad through Legend in Shadowheart (2009)
Charles Napier as Sheriff Sanders, investing the sudden death of a preacher in Shadowheart (2009)
William Sadler as Thomas Conners, painting a church with his son’s help in Shadowheart (2009)
Christian Fortune as young James Conners, preparing to leave Legend after the death of his father in Shadowheart (2009)
Stephanie Patton as young Mary, the girl James is infactuated with in Shadowheart (2009)
Angus Macfadyen as Will Tunney, elected mayor of Legend in Shadowheart (2009)
Marnie Alton as Mary Cooper, urging James not to act on his threat of vengeance in Shadowheart (2009)
Angus Macfadyen as Will Tunney and Dean Alioto as Spider threatening Miakoda (Tonantzin Carmelo) in Shadowheart (2009)
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