Dead Man's Burden (2013)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 117
My Rating
Movie Info
Set in 1870 in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, DEAD MAN'S BURDEN is the story of Martha (Clare Bowen, ABC's Nashville) and her husband Heck (David Call, Tiny Furniture), who are struggling to make ends meet on the rural New Mexico frontier. When a mining company expresses interest in buying their land, Martha and Heck see their ticket to a better life. Their hopeful plans are soon complicated when Martha's oldest brother Wade (Barlow Jacobs, Shotgun Stories), presumed dead during the
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All Critics (15) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (4)
Ponderous but lovely, simple but elegant, it should appeal to fans of Westerns.
Top CriticSmall in scale but with a grand visual ambition, "Dead Man's Burden" draws nourishment from its burned-out desert setting and ambling pace.
Despite visual nods to dozens of classic Westerns, the film cannot break through with its own vision.
You never get over the feeling that you're watching modern actors play frontier-drama dress-up. It's a deathblow.
A refreshing respite from filmmakers who believe the only low-budget option is to stay firmly ensconced in their own milieu.
A slow-burning oater that's not gun-shy when it matters, Dead Man's Burden reps an impressive first feature from producer-turned-helmer Jared Moshe.
The movie offers a convincing look at the sort of irreparable damage the Civil War did to families, but too often it feels like self-conscious role-play.
Dead Man's Burden isn't [great], but it's not a bad horse opera and is unflinching in its depictions of harshness and violence.
Oddly lifeless, despite the clearly devoted efforts of the cast and crew: It's admirable without being particularly engaging, so respectful of its cinematic predecessors that its own voice is strangled.
The story is modest to the point of occasionally seeming slight, and the ending is a tad too cute in the way it circles back to the beginning, but even those flaws just make it feel more authentic. See it now, before it gets rediscovered.
It's always a pleasure to encounter genre ambition contained in such a sinewy-shot, emotionally resonant, and gorgeously photographed package.
While soaked in ambiguity, Dead Man's Burden maintains the Western requisite that bullets must find their targets.
Dead Man's Burden is worth the watch for its sheer beauty, but it's also a slow burner of Western tragedy that hails many new talents to keep an eye on.
Though it sometimes wears its influences a tad too openly, Dead Man's Burden is still an atmospheric and emotionally satisfying indie western that could spark interest among serious fans of the genre.
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Latest News on Dead Man's Burden
May 3, 2013:
RT Interview: Clare Bowen Talks Dead Man's Burden and NashvilleAustralian-born actress/singer Clare Bowen is best known for her sudden rise to stardom as Scarlett...
May 3, 2013:
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