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Cast: James Badge Dale, Ethan Embry, William Forsythe, Maika Monroe
In post-Civil War Texas, two neighboring families are grieving tragic losses while they struggle to survive in this rural drama. The cattle-ranching McCluskeys have lost both a son and their entire herd to the war. The Rileys, mourning the loss of wife and mother Mary to illness, eke out a living trapping animals and selling their pelts. When Wade (James Badge Dale, The Lone Ranger, Iron Man 3) returns from fighting for the Confederacy, he discovers that Randolph McCluskey (The Rock, Once Upon a Time in America) and family have been stealing animals from the family traps. He decides to take matters into his own hands, sparking yet another tragic and senseless war.
The Civil War has ended but for two families in Texas the hardships continue. The head of the Riley family welcomes back his brother-in-law, Wade who returns from fighting for the Confederacy. Wade has no where to stay so he is invited to stick around and help out with things like the family trapping business. But when Wade catches the McCluskey family stealing from their traps he confronts his brother-in-law who is not only religious and chooses to look the other way to keep peace but he also seems to owe a debt to Ralph McCluskey. Wade upset over it decides to take matters into his own hands.
"Echoes of War" is a film that shows the hardships everyone suffered after the Civil War ended. It is mostly a drama that is dialogue and character driven so I do not expect it to be for everyone. It started out a bit slow even for me but as the film moved a long I got more engaged in the lives of both of these families.
The story is very simple but I was never once bored by it and the settings were perfect and the cinematography was beautiful. But, the best thing about the film to me was the cast. Everyone did a great job including, James Badge Dale, Ethan Embry and Maika Monroe but for my money the show stealer was William Forsythe who ignited the screen every time he appeared.
I really enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would and I recommend it to anyone that likes a good drama or western. It really gets you interested and invested in both families right from the start and it keeps you engage all the way to the nail-biting climax.
Available now on DVD, You can order it HERE.
Released by ARC Entertainment
**** Out Of *****