Jane Got a Gun

New Mexico, 1871: Jane Hammond (Natalie Portman) lives with her husband Bill “Ham” Hammond and their daughter on a remote farm. One day, Bill returns from one of his rides seriously injured—shot by the notorious Bishop gang. Bill was once a member of the group of outlaws led by the treacherous John Bishop (Ewan McGregor), who now wants to finish him off for good. In her desperation, Jane turns to Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton), her former fiancé, whom she hasn't seen in years. Despite old emotional wounds and their complicated past, Dan helps his former lover fortify the farm and prepare for the impending attack. As they prepare, flashbacks reveal Jane's tragic story and tell of her escape from violence, her rescue by Bill, and her destroyed love for Dan. "The emotional ties between Jane, Bill, and Dan are decided in a veritable battle in which Jane's house is riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. A hail of bullets and explosions is a purgatory. Romantic memories and brutal reality are balanced. Portman and Edgerton successfully embody the hardening caused by the American Civil War, which separated and traumatized them. Although historical accuracy plays a major role, particularly in terms of ballistics, Jane Got a Gun is also a timeless work about how sacrifice, compromise, and mutual recognition can bring people with different life stories back together or together for the first time. The patchwork pattern that emerges is highly topical." (Andreas Günther, on: kino-zeit.de)