The Confederate (2018)

Heather Clark is Willa Randall, a young woman coming of age in the Civil War south.

Her mother died when she was young. Her brother Bobby has been killed in the war. Her father has taken to drinking his days away.

But Pa Randalls expects his daughter to marry well — preferably to well-off Maj. Dodds (Dave Long) — in order for them to survive.

In fact, he signs an agreement with Dodds ensuring she will do just that.

But Willa despises the much older Dodds, and that’s before tries to force himself on her and beats her when she resists his advances.

So Willa flees her home, disguises herself as a young man and joins Wheeler’s cavalry under the name Will Baker.

She becomes a competent soldier, even saving the life of her captain, Jefferson Spencer (Tripp Courtney) at one point.

But her secret is eventually uncovered. And Dodds, a major in the Georgia home guard, still wants her back.

Heather Clark as Willa Randall, excited to see Rebel cavalry approaching her dad’s home in The Confederate (2018)

Tripp Courtney as Capt. Jefferson Spencer, showing Willa how to reload a pistol in The Confederate (2018)

Review:

Director Christopher Forbes has helmed more than a dozen ulta-low budget Westerns and Civil War dramas. This is undoubtedly the best of the bunch.

A coherent script — never a certainty in a Forbes’ film — sure helps. So do solid performances from his leads, Heather Clark and Tripp Courtney.

So does cohesive direction from Forbes, who avoids the pointless tangents that mar so many of his other films.

The tiny budget shows — from aging, overweight actors to Civil War battle scenes that include no more than a handful of soldiers.

But you just might find yourself caring about what happens to Heather Clark’s character, and the story line includes enough wrinkles that her fate remains uncertain.

Forbes, as he’s prone to do, shows up in his own film. In this instance, he plays a Union soldier captured by Willa — aka Will — in her first battle.

Dave Long as Maj. Dodds, the rich southerner determined to have Willa Randall as his wife in The Confederate (2018)

Jerry Chesser as Cpl. Reynolds, one of the men serving under Capt. Spencer in The Confederate (2018)

Directed by:
Christopher Forbes

Cast:
Heather Clark … Willa Randall
Tripp Courtney … Capt. Jefferson Spencer
Dave Long … Major Dodds
James Holmes … Jesse Randall
Jerry Chesser … Cpl. Reynolds
Charles Kizer … Sgt. Quinn
Stan Fink … Logan
Parker Stevenson … Gen. Sherman
Brad Owens … Gen. Kilpatrick
Arnold Simmons … Josh
Shane McElahney … Sloan
Shawn Granato … Slade
Jennifer Gatch … Mrs. Mabry
Christopher Forbes — Union officer
Tomme Hilton … Clarissa McRae

Runtime: 95 min.

aka:
Perfect Disguise

Brad Owens as Gen. Kilpatrick, hearing about a plan to free Union prisoners held at Andersonville in The Confederate (2018)

Parker Stevenson as Gen. Sherman, sharing news of a Union defeat in The Confederate (2018)

Memorable lines:

Pa Randall: “You best start learning how to please a man. What good are you if you don’t marry well enough to support us?”
Willa Randall: “All the decent men, like (brother) Bobby, were killed by the Yankees, pa.”

Edgar Dodds: “Marry me, and you’ll never have to work in the dirt again.”
Willa Randall: “I’d rather have the dirt.”

Willa Randall at she approaches a Confederate camp: “I have a horse and a shotgun. And I want to fight Yankees.”

Heather Clark as Willa Randall, preparing farming to a comfortable life as Dodds’ wife in The Confederate (2018)

Arnold Simmons as Joshua, the slave Maj. Dodds tries to use to get information on Willa’s whereabouts in The Confederate (2018)

James Holmes as Jesse Randall, suggesting Willa marry Major Dodds in The Confederate (2018)

Christopher Forbes as the Union soldier Willa Randall captures in her first action in The Confederate (2018)

Heather Clark as Willa Randall, reacting to killing her first man in The Confederate (2015)

Tripp Courtney as Capt. Jefferson Spencer with Heather Clark as Willa Randall in The Confederate (2018)