The Claim (2000)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writers:

Thomas Hardy (novel)
Frank Cottrell Boyce (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 February 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Everything has a price.

Plot:

A prospector sells his wife and daughter to another gold miner for the rights to a gold mine. Twenty years later...

Plot Keywords:

Railroad | Gold Mine | Surveyor | Miner | Morphine

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Peter Mullan	...	Daniel Dillon
Milla Jovovich	...	Lucia
Wes Bentley	...	Donald Dalglish
Nastassja Kinski	...	Elena Burn
Sarah Polley	...	Hope Burn
Shirley Henderson	...	Annie
Julian Richings	...	Francis Bellanger
Sean McGinley	...	Mr. Sweetley
Randy Birch	...	Priest
Tom McCamus	...	Mr. Burn
Frank Zotter	...	Photographer
Artur Ciastkowski	...	Delany
Barry Ward	...	Young Dillon
Karolina Muller	...	Young Elena
David Lereaney	...	Saloon Actor

Also Known As:

Kingdom Come (USA) (working title)
Le maître de Kingdom Come (Canada: French title)
Rédemption (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, and some language and violence.

Runtime:

120 min | Spain:115 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK | France | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

Originally entitled "Kingdom Come", until the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) awarded the title to a rival production claiming the rights to the title. Other titles considered for renaming the movie were "Sierra Nevada", "The Ballad of Daniel Dillon", and "Sierra City".

Movie Connections:

References McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Soundtrack:

Se Velha

Winterbottom's masterpiece

I have been following this director for a while and I always liked his films but this time he has exceeded my expectations.

'The Claim' is like an ancient greek tragedy and Dillon is its' hero. Dillon is a man who goes West with his wife and new born daughter in order to find gold. In the process he sells his wife and his daughter in exchange for that gold. Years later his wife will come back to haunt him and Dillon comes to realize how empty his life has been, how irrelevant wealth can be to happiness. The story is so beautifully told and the last scene where the people of the new city of Lisboa prey on Dillon's gold is a metaphor or at least I would like it to be. I think Winterbottom wanted to show how the world will never change, how people will continue to go after that gold. Dillon came and went, but he didn't leave anything behind him. He achieved all those things, he was a pioneer he went out West, he was one of the people who built America but he didn't win his daughter's heart. And it makes one wonder, what was the point of his life. 'The Claim' is the story of America itself, an America that was built on greed, on the quest for new lands, new conquers and prosperity. Peter Mullan gives us an excellent performance, as well as Sarah Polley as the elegant young daughter and Milla Jovovich. Nastasia Kinsky has a rather insignificant role and Wes Bentley is disappointing. Overall, a very good film, a piece of art by Winterbottom and a story that you won't forget for a while.