By: Haley Bosselman By: Haley Bosselman | September 29, 2021 | Movies,
Jonathan Majors and Zazie Beets in "The Harer They Fall."
This isn’t your grandfather’s Western, or so promises Netflix with the upcoming film The Harder They Fall.
The streamer dropped the trailer, revealing an action-packed tale of the Old West with our favorite new and longtime stars. Get ready to saddle up.
The Harder They Fall is a story of vengeance. When outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) learns his parents’ killer, ruthless crime boss Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), was sprung from prison, he reunites with his gang to track down his enemy and enact his revenge. Along with Majors and Elba, the cast features Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, Deon Cole and recent Modern Luxury cover star LaKeith Stanfield.
See also: Actor LaKeith Stanfield Is Setting A New Standard For Hollywood
The film reunites Jay-Z and writer-director-producer Jeymes Samuel. The two previously worked together on the highly acclaimed soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Here, the duo will also write and produce original music for the film. The trailer gives a first taste of what is to come with a snippet of a Jay-Z-original Kid Cudi track. Keep your ear open for it when Beetz aims a gun at the camera.
After premiering at the BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 6, The Harder They Fall will have a limited theatrical release on Oct. 22 and then will be available on Netflix on Nov. 3
Samuel’s film is sure to be a knockout. BFI London Film Festival programmer Grace Barber-Plentie made it clear in her explanation of the movie’s selection.
“We fell head-over-heels in love with the film from its very first shoot-out,” she wrote. “This is filmmaking so self-assured and daring that it’s hard to believe it’s Samuel’s debut. Not only does it look incredible, it also sounds it, with an impeccable genre-fusing original soundtrack executive produced by Shawn Carter. Paying attention to every little detail, Samuel has crafted a Western that will appeal to die-hard fans of the genre as well as newcomers.”
The brother of recording artist Seal, Samuel is also known as the singer-songwriter known as The Bullitts. Though making his major film debut, Samuel is no stranger to westerns. In 2013, he directed the 51-minute They Die By Dawn. The film premiered at SXSW and starred Erykah Badu, Roasrio Dawson and Michael K. Williams.
Samuel wrote the screenplay for The Harder They Fall with Remember the Titans director Boaz Yakin. Lawrence Bender and James Lassiter also serve as producers.
Watch the full trailer below.
Photography by: David Lee/Netflix