South of Heaven, West of Hell

An extraordinary cast follows Yoakum into his first directorial effort: an offbeat, thoughtful western with violent tendencies. Vince Vaughn, Bridget Fonda, Paul Reubens, Bud Cort, Luke Askew and Bo Hopkins star alongside Yoakam himself, who not only co-wrote and directed the picture, but composed the music as well. Cameo appearances by Billy Bob Thornton, Peter Fonda, and Warren Zevon round out the collection of top-flight talent.

Bridget Fonda, Bud Cort and an almost unrecognizable PeeWee Herman shine above all, presenting the only characters able to leave a truly lasting impression. Yoakam's first shot at directing shows significant promise, with his only unqualified mistake resulting from trying to do too much. He incorporates far too many characters into what is really a small, effective, and rather traditional story of a criminal family, the child who escapes from his father's tyranny, and the subsequent reunions and battles.

Beautiful moments abound, including a marvellous sequence on Peter Fonda's hot-air balloon, and a hilarious scene involving Cort and a shit-hole in a make-shift prison. Yoakam is wise enough to give each of his actors ample moments of silence and contemplation, but in the end he proves too generous. The narrative loses momentum as we jump from character to character, never certain with whom we are meant to invest our emotions.

Yoakam is obviously very familiar with the western genre, embracing enough motifs to make the ones he chooses to subvert stand up and be counted. Throughout the picture the director constantly reminds us how difficult it is to both shoot a gun effectively, and kill a human no matter what weapon you choose.

The cinematography and original score are excellent. From the opening shot to the violent climax, there is no doubt we are watching quality--something many viewers assume is impossible with films that suffer a direct-to-video fate. All in all a fine, aggressive debut.

Note: Billy Bob is interestingly cast as the "Eastern" character, shedding his southern accent while the remainder of the cast revels in their drawl.

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