ReelBob: ‘The Lonesome Trail’ ★

By Bob Bloom

I usually am a big fan of Westerns because they mostly lack ambiguity. Heroes and villains face off and 95 percent of the time, the hero prevails.

In a sense, “The Lonesome Trail” is that kind of movie. This shoestring-budget oater is more faith-based and, at 115 minutes, spends most of its time preaching and preaching and preaching!

The movie is mainly talk, talk, talk — especially how violence is not the way and how God takes care of those who believe.

But the movie makes that same point over and over, until it is beaten into the ground.

The story centers on Brent Carson (Peter Wray), a preacher who comes to the town of Red Springs. He immediately gets on the wrong side of cattleman McCray (Donald Imm), who has the biggest ranch in the region and doesn’t want the land abutting his — which he does not own — settled by newcomers, such as Bill Barnaby (Lamont Easter) and his wife, a black couple.

McCray dislikes Carson because he welcomes the Barnabys and because the woman he desires, schoolmarm Elizabeth (Kelly Schwartz), shows a keen interest in Carson.

Carson is a man of peace. His weapon of choice is his Bible, which he continually carries around.

And the enmity between him and McCray only grows worse when Elizabeth marries the preacher.

The movie spans 20-plus years as Carson and his wife have a couple of sons, tragedy strikes the family and one of Carson’s sons leaves the fold to work for McCray who, even after two decades, still wants to drive the “outlanders,” as he calls them, away.

The movie’s acting is community theater level. The cast delivers their lines as if they were offering a sermon.

The film is a parable about the prodigal son with Jonah, the younger Carson son, realizing the error of his ways and returning to the fold.

“The Lonesome Trail” is a film that should be screened after a church service, not in a cinema. It features a few hammy performances, amateurish acting and a syrupy score.

Writer-director Arlette Thomas-Fletcher is sincere in her belief that faith prevails, but we don’t need to watch an overlong 115-minute cinematic sermon to learn that.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

THE LONESOME TRAIL
1 star out of 4
Not rated, violence