All through the 2010s, Brian Duffield greater than did his half to maintain the artwork of the unique style film alive and thriving. Between his screenplays for the babysitter slasher-comedy “The Babysitter,” the post-apocalyptic monster journey “Love and Monsters,” and the underwater survival thriller “Underwater” (okay, maybe his titles might use just a little work), Duffield emerged as one of many hottest abilities in Hollywood earlier than absolutely coming into his personal because the writer-director behind the well-received highschool horror rom-com “Spontaneous” and primarily dialogue-free alien invasion thriller “No One Will Save You” within the 2020s. However earlier than any of that occurred, the primary produced movie based mostly on one in every of Duffield’s distinctive scrips grew to become one thing of a catastrophe (by way of no fault of his personal, thoughts you).
The film in query, “Jane Received a Gun,” has the makings of an creative spin on a well-known tune, very like Duffield’s different work. Directed by Gavin O’Connor (“Miracle,” “The Accountant”), the Western casts Natalie Portman because the eponymous firearm-wielding cowlady, a girl whose husband is almost shot to demise by his former gang of outlaws. With the criminals closing in on Jane and her family members (together with their younger daughter), Portman’s heroine reaches out to her ex-lover for assist, forcing her to reopen outdated wounds and revisit her painful previous all whereas preventing to remain alive within the current. It is a meaty premise and one which may’ve performed like gangbusters within the palms of the movie’s authentic director Lynne Ramsay, the revered Scottish filmmaker who had excelled at crafting tales about individuals who discover themselves in horrible conditions that unlock their most haunting recollections within the tense dramas “Morvern Callar,” and “We Must Speak About Kevin.”
Sadly, it wasn’t to be, as “Jane Received a Gun” discovered itself beset by behind-the-scenes issues that culminated with Ramsay abandoning ship on the eleventh hour (considerably actually, as we’ll get into shortly) and the movie being dramatically overhauled within the wake. Here is a breakdown of what occurred.
A fast historical past of Jane Received a Gun’s many behind-the-scenes woes
From the skin, pre-production on “Jane Received a Gun” appeared innocuous sufficient. Apart from Michael Fassbender dropping out of the forged resulting from a scheduling battle with “X-Males: Days of Future Previous,” the Western seemed to be making good progress within the lead-up to the supposed first day of taking pictures in March 2013. That was earlier than the information broke that Ramsay had quietly departed the undertaking the weekend earlier than filming was slated to start, a lot to the shock of the forged and crew members who confirmed as much as work that day solely to search out themselves down a director.
Whereas producer Scott Steindorff was fast to vilify Ramsay with assistance from sure trades (not naming names), a subsequent investigation by The Hollywood Reporter painted a way more difficult image of what went down. The place two of THR’s sources acknowledged Ramsay hadn’t obtained both a finalized taking pictures schedule, script, or funds shortly earlier than she left, one other supply alleged the filmmaker had “didn’t ship a taking pictures script regardless of a number of delays and more and more weird habits.” Both approach, it seems Ramsay stepped away after “a three-day standoff” (apologies, however I feel all of us knew there was no approach we have been getting by way of this story with out at the very least one cowboy pun) between her and Steindorff over the movie’s ultimate reduce and different artistic points. The manufacturing later sued Ramsay over her dropping out, with the lawsuit being settled out of court docket (by way of Leisure Weekly).
With Ramsay gone, Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji (“The Misplaced Metropolis of Z,” “Uncut Gems”) and co-star Jude Legislation quickly adopted, after which Joel Edgerton — who performs Jane’s outdated flame — rewrote the script with Anthony Tambakis. In the meantime, O’Connor (who’d beforehand labored with Edgerton and Tambakis on the acclaimed MMA drama “Warrior”) took over directing and, in a single final little bit of behind-the-scenes turmoil, Bradley Cooper changed Legislation, solely to drop out and get replaced himself by Ewan McGregor (who performs the movie’s huge unhealthy). By that time, it was mid-2013. It could be one other two and a half years earlier than “Jane Received a Gun” lastly opened in U.S. theaters on January 2016 after the movie’s authentic co-distributor, Relativity Media, filed for chapter in June 2015.
Jane Received a Gun got here and went with out making a lot of an impression
Regardless of all of the pandemonium off display screen, there was nonetheless cause to stay hopeful about “Jane Received a Gun” main as much as its arrival. In addition to boasting a (revised) model of Duffield’s script, which had been ok to make Black Listing of finest unmade scripts in 2011, the movie nonetheless boasted an Oscar-winning lead, a great deal of notable expertise on each side of the digicam (I am solely simply now mentioning that Jane’s husband is performed by Noah Emmerich of “The Truman Present” and “The Individuals” fame), and an intriguing revisionist tackle the Western style. Alas, as typically occurs with concepts that begin out particular earlier than being closely retooled, most critics agreed that “Jane Received a Gun” wasn’t flat out- unhealthy a lot as muddled and middling. To cite Observer’s Mark Kermode, “It is all completely satisfactory, however quite perfunctory, a phrase that might by no means be utilized to one in every of Ramsay’s movies.”
To make sure, it is inconceivable to not marvel what Ramsay — an inimitable storyteller who makes introspective, understated movies the place main occasions that different motion pictures may shove within the face of the viewer appear to occur simply off-camera — would make of Duffield’s story of affection misplaced and violent males within the Outdated West. Even years after, she discovered her entire expertise with “Jane Received a Gun” troublesome to speak about. “Wanting again on that mishegoss, I used to be actually devastated,” Ramsay advised Deadline in 2017. “I actually wished to make the movie. It was a tough determination to do this [walking away], but it surely was changing into a distinct film. In my head, I made it [the film]. That was a tricky time, I would not bulls**t about that.”
One imagines Ramsay’s follow-up movie, the brutal employed gun thriller “You Have been By no means Actually Right here” starring Joaquin Phoenix in one in every of his finest performances, gives an honest concept of what a style image like “Jane Received a Gun” might’ve been like in her palms. Simply picture Phoenix in a cowboy hat the subsequent (or first) time you watch it.