Reckoning (2002)

Director:

Jason Rodriguez

Writer:

Jason Rodriguez (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Cast

Jason Rodriguez	...	Luke
Stacy Cunningham	...	Lucille
Cheryl Lawson	...	Kate
Alan Waserman	...	John Bonham
Kim Jackson	...	Luke's Sister
Kent Smith	...	Charlie Wells
Craig Davis	...	Samuel
Ritchie Copenhaver	...	Richard
Shiu Tong Lee	...	Chinese Madam
Mark Rodriguez	...	Bonham's Honcho #!
John Lambie	...	Bartender
Ramon Becerra	...	Vaquero
Cosmo Segurson	...	Accordion Player
Becky Gessert	...	Chinese Whore
Tina Walker	...	Sharecropper's Wife

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

Homestead Productions

Interesting, Oddball Western

I gave this 6 stars out of 10.

This movie is very much Jason Rodriguez's effort from start to finish. Rodrigeuz wrote, directed, helped produce, and starred in this film - and I noted there were some family members listed in the credits - so I get the impression that Mr. Rodriguez had to do this on a limited budget.

The plot is interesting, and quite different from anything I have seen before. The main weaknesses in this film are the lack of any quality acting abilities on the part of most of the cast -- and the Luke character having a tendency to quote bible scripture at the drop of a hat - usually the same verses - which frequently had little or nothing to do with what was happening. An echoing sound effect in one of the flashbacks was only distracting--as sometimes the bible quoting was.

However I admire Mr. Rodriguez's efforts.

The story begins when a mysterious man, whom we later learn is Luke (I don't think any last name was ever given for him)enters a bar/wh*rehouse inquiring about a woman with angel eyes for whom he is looking, and also a man, with a limp who is as evil as the devil, who has taken her.

The man for whom he searches is John Bonham (played by Alan Wasserman, the only one in the cast who seems to have had SOME acting experience), who truly is quite depraved - kills people without a second thought - and has been running a protection racket in this part of the west. Whenever John sees a young girl he likes the look of, he takes her and forces her to be a prostitute in his brothel.

Luke's sister has been taken by John and is being kept as his personal sex slave.

A wh*re named Lucille leads Luke to where his sister is. Luke is able to rescue her, but it is, of course only the beginning of problems for them.

Out on the trail, they head for a place Lucille knows about, but Luke's sister becomes ill before they get there. A man in the area comes across them and invites them to come with him back to his house.

This man is Charlie, and he is married to Kate. As it turns out Kate is Lucille's sister - and a lot of bad has happened since Lucille ran off a few years ago. There are tensions between the sisters, and also between Kate and her husband, Charlie.

Of course, the villains come after them, but there are other twists and turns that were surprising and make this a non-typical western.

If you can overlook the somewhat dead-pan acting & dialog said in a monotone most of the time -- you will be rewarded with an original story and interesting characters.