Day Of The Stranger (2019)

Day Of The Stranger  (2019)

Film Review

By the Geezer of Oz

A surreal, funny and tensely dramatic Western that laments on the acid western of the 1970’s. [IMDb]

In the past decade or so, I have been doing my very best to avoid watching trailers or reading more than a couple of lines regarding a film I plan to watch. Once I started reviewing films, I have become even more strict with this practice. Today’s trailers, in most cases, tend to reveal too much and simply ruin the viewing experience for me. Loglines and synopses are either completely misleading or too revealing in my experience as well. Being privy to many of the tricks of the trade, I tend to recognize certain elements that sometimes reveal too much of the story and its potential twists and turns, which are always better left as surprise.

When I was approached to review Day of the Stranger, I only sneaked a quick peek at the poster and avoided any additional information pre-viewing. My impression was that it was some kind of homage to spaghetti westerns or a parody of one, or of the sub-genre altogether. This made my viewing experience all the more interesting and unique as it set me on the wrong track from the get-go. At least somewhat. Day of the Stranger is definitely in homage territory and has comedic elements embedded in the script and story (and its overall attitude), but it is not a parody as such. To my surprise, I quickly discovered that this film, while not quite a modern day spaghetti western, is however the spaghetti western’s somewhat distant, stoner cousin… the acid western. An interesting surprise, indeed.

The first half of the film seems like a run-of-the-mill western. It was shot and edited to look like it was made in the 1970’s and it works to great effect. It keeps you interested in the plot, even though it starts as a fairly generic western story. Then at a point somewhere around the middle of the film, it takes a sharp turn into the weird and quirky and eventually, the acid flows freely, leaving even the more confused viewer at least somewhat entertained, I’m sure. I would cautiously describe it as taking both pills from Morpheus‘ hand, the blue AND the red, adding them into a spicy Mexican enchilada, then downing it all with a bottle of tequila. Worm and all.

Director Tom Lee Rutter went ahead and made a feature film rarely seen these days. While there are elements of spaghetti western in the style of Sergio Leone, the Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Italian westerns (Trinity and Bambino films), Franco Nero (the original 1966 Django) and most definitely Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s work (El Topo), I have not seen many made in this style in the past couple of decades. The most successful example to my taste, would be Jim Jarmusch‘s Dead Man from 1995, which is a more artistic and poetic take on the sub-genre, done to near perfection. This makes Rutter‘s attempt all the more ambitious and daring… and it pays off.

In the traditional western, the journey west is intended as a road to modernization, the future and liberation from the tired old ways, but in the acid western, it is flipped on its head as a journey towards darkness, death and decay. Day of the Stranger grapples with issues of good versus evil, greed versus true happiness, self discovery, and even enters the areas of prejudice against homosexuality, religion and sexism/misogyny. Basically it has a little bit of everything, but none is present in excess, so it does it all with style.

The direction, cinematography and editing are all done expertly by Rutter. He knows exactly where he wants to go with this film and does so with confidence. The writing, also by Rutter (and very loosely inspired by Mark Twain‘s ‘The Mysterious Stranger‘), fits perfectly with the style and direction and keeps us interested and entertained.

The cast, who I assume are all from the UK, seem to enjoy the ride and relish at the opportunity to display their fake American, and very Southern, accents. This adds to the fun and psychedelic atmosphere, reminding us not to take the film too seriously, but also not too lightly. Dale Sheppard as our troubled protagonist Caine Farrowood, Gary Baxter as the playful Stranger, Gary Shail as Loomweather, Richard Rowbotham as McGonagal, and Maryam Farouhandeh as Caine‘s loving wife, Christina, all do their roles justice. They all walk the fine line between overacting and keeping their characters believable, which in this type of film is a necessity. The acting throughout the film by all characters is very balanced, which is rare in such low budget projects.

Taking all of the above into consideration, it is quite a small miracle that this film was made (it took Rutter six years to complete the film!) and with such positive results. The ultra low budget is used as an advantage rather than a hindrance. The look of the film harks back to its 1960’s-1970’s counterparts, seemingly belonging in that long bygone era. The score/soundtrack by Craigus Barry and The Stained Glass Whispers, is fantastically reminiscent of such 70’s films, yet not sounding like it copies anyone. It melds western genre sounds with some very subtle ambiance more suitable in the horror genre. The result is nothing short of fantastic.