Blackthorn | Review

While the bastardized remake may be the zenith of sacrilege in cinema, something that takes a close second is the unwarranted and unnecessary reimagining of an enduring classic and rewriting its trajectory. The baggage associated with films belonging to a classic cannon or pantheon in cinema, especially classic American cinema, oftentimes squeezes the credibility out of lazy remakes or films creating a direct dialogue to a past classic. They, more often than not, are setting themselves up for failure. While the idea of Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr helming a project about Luke Skywalker as a wizened Jedi in the waning golden years of his existence may sound like an intriguing film (he isn’t planning that, by the way), the mere association with such a classic cinematic character is an automatic encumbrance. And the same can be said for Spanish filmmaker Mateo Gil’s latest film, Blackthorn, which asserts that Butch Cassidy survived that blasted Bolivian shoot-out at the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and picks up twenty years later. What has happened over the past twenty odd years is apparently of no importance, but sadly, Gil’s film concerning Cassidy’s need to travel back into the United States before he kicks the bucket, can’t muster any momentous interest either.

The grizzled Sam Shepard stars as the eponymous Blackthorn, the pseudonym Butch Cassidy adopted. Learning that the mother of his twenty year old son (or is it Sundance’s son?) has died, Blackthorn feels the need to sell off his land and horses and trek back to the US to be with him. Withdrawing all his money from the bank (yes, there’s a reference to his wild youth as a shameless bank robber) he saddles up and is quickly accosted by a Spanish thief (Eduardo Noriega) who has recently robbed the mine he worked for. As Blackthorn loses his horse in the scuffle, and, therefore, all his money, the two vagabonds forge on together when the thief promises Blackthorn half of his loot if he provides him with protection. A certain tenuous friendship develops between the two, and we’re treated to reminiscent flashbacks of Butch, Sundance, and Etta, the woman they both loved. As those in pursuit of the stolen cash from the mine get closer to the duo, Blackthorn loses his Native American housekeeper/lover while an indefatigable pursuer from his youth (Stephen Rea) becomes alerted that Butch Cassidy is still alive, after all.

While the Bolivian landscape is certainly a sight to behold, Blackthorn feels like a cheap attempt at invigorating interest by exploiting a classic film character. The character, as played by a Sam Shepard (who is certainly the best aspect of the film) could be anybody. Making him Butch Cassidy anchors the film to such a degree that we’re never able to move forward. Add to that some terribly wrought flashbacks between Butch, Sundance, and Etta, attempting to rewrite the Cassidy mythos, and the film ends up being an accidental comedy. The Newman and Redford stand-ins should have been switched and the young woman playing Etta (Dominique McElligott) is an extremely poor rendering, shown as a brazen cowgirl smiling insipidly here. There’s a hammy, cornball essence about these flashbacks that take away any brevity mustered by Shepard in the present circumstances. While Eduardo Noriega is generally a welcome screen presence (his best work happens to be in films Mateo Gil has written, such as Thesis, 1996, or Open Your Eyes, 1997) he’s completely underwhelming here, and his friendship that’s supposedly established with Blackthorn is lazily developed and unbelievable.

Gil’s film ends in a showdown that solves a moral dilemma that crops up about the thief. Wasn’t half the appeal of the original Butch and Sundance that we rooted for them even through the absence of morals? Sitting through Gil’s addendum, one can’t help but feel how unnecessary this whole treatment is. Just like that terrible 2005 Jennifer Aniston comedy, Rumor Has It… attempted to give us a geriatric Mrs. Robinson, Blackthorn is an apathetic exercise in its proposal to serve us a compelling continuation of Butch Cassidy. You may need to revisit George Roy Hill’s classic in order to get the taste of this frumpy toadstool out of your mouth. As one of the notable characters shouts into the Bolivian desert at this film’s conclusion, “Damn you, Butch Cassidy!” you’ll want to scream the same. After you stop laughing.

Rating 2 stars