The Last Son has one of the most interesting premises for a Western in years. Isaac LeMay (Sam Worthington) is an outlaw living under a deadly curse. It has been foretold that one of his children will end his life. In order to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, he decides to hunt down all of his children. Along the way, bounty hunters and the law pursue him.
This is not the type of film that has clear cut good guys and bad guys. Even to say it is painted in shades of grey is not entirely correct. The Last Son is a harsh story that makes it hard to root for any of the characters. Even for a Western, this is a risky storytelling choice. Strong performances make this a non issue. Cinema history is filled with poor acting turns from talented musicians. There are more Mariah Careys than there are Lady Gagas. Because of this, it would be easy to dismiss the inclusion of Machine Gun Kelly as LeMay’s son, Cal.
It turns outs that MGK (credited under his real name of Colson Baker) does a great job. The performance is especially good since he has to hold his own with Worthington and Thomas Jane. Overall, The Last Son is a well acted film. It is a shame that the story does not always keep up.
The Last Son lacks depth at times. There is a lot of room here for an emotionally deep story that is never explored. The pacing is also erratic with too many long quiet scenes. Director Tim Sutton tries to make up for this by making sure the story never gets too complicated, but there is always the sense that something is missing.
Still, in an age where there are plenty of mediocre Westerns and not enough good ones, the film stands out. Its plot remains interesting the whole time. Fans of the genre will definitely get a kick out of The Last Son.
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