Michelle Muldoon grew up watching westerns with her dad. She loved the grittiness, the realism and the shoot-outs that populated films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Two Mules for Sister Sara.
It wasn鈥檛 until much later, when Muldoon was already working in the 麻豆传媒映画film industry as a writer, director and AD, that she took a long moment to contemplate how women had been represented in the genre she loved.
And what Muldoon realized during that moment of pondering was bad, ugly and not very good at all.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen with women in westerns is what we call the Madonna-whore complex, where you鈥檙e either the hooker in the saloon or you鈥檙e the long-suffering, dedicated wife at the farmhouse,鈥� says Muldoon. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not those two, you鈥檙e not in it. There have been dynamic female characters throughout in some way [...] but they鈥檝e always been an offshoot of those roles.鈥�
But you won鈥檛 find any of those character types in Last Stand to Nowhere, even though it features an all-female cast and is undeniably a western.
The locally shot short film 鈥� which Muldoon wrote and directed 鈥� takes the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and re-tells it with women characters. Chelah Horsdal (The Man in the High Castle) stars as Wylona Earp, Johannah Newmarch (When Calls the Heart) plays Doc Holliday and Luvia Petersen (Continuum) portrays Ida Clanton.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not only the most retold story in westerns, it is the most well-known internationally in westerns, and it鈥檚 almost become mythological,鈥� says Muldoon. 鈥淚 knew that if I wanted to tell a western that any audience anywhere would have some grounding in, and therefore could question with me, it would be this story.鈥�
鈥淧eople treat the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral as a historical fact, but the story that we run with was told by Wyatt Earp to screenwriter Stuart Lake in the later years of his life, so it鈥檚 not really history because we only have that one person鈥檚 recollection of his role,鈥� adds Muldoon.听
Last Stand to Nowherewas financed through crowdfunding and went to camera in 2018. Shooting (both filmic and of the gun-slinging variety) took place at the Jamestown Movie Set in Langley, where Hallmark鈥檚 historical family drama When Calls the Heart also films.
鈥淭here was a point on set where I looked at a couple of people with me at the monitors and said, 鈥楾his just feels so normal to me, is it just me?鈥� And everyone around me said, 鈥楴o, this feels normal,鈥欌�� says Muldoon. 鈥淣o one had a problem buying into women gunslingers because these actresses brought a universal quality to everything they did.鈥�
惭耻濒诲辞辞苍鈥檚 Last Stand journey hasn鈥檛 all been smooth sailing. From the get-go, she鈥檚 encountered pushback, primarily from 鈥渙lder gentlemen who grew up with the story.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been the hardest part for me to realize that, as a Canadian, Americans don鈥檛 see this as a mythological tale. They think this is their history that I鈥檝e messed with, so I want to cut the people who have pushed back some slack on that.鈥�
Last month, Muldoon was the lone Canadian filmmaker invited to attend the venerable Almeria Western Film Festival in Spain. The festival takes place in Tabernas, in a replica Wild West town that was built for Sergio Leone鈥檚 For a Few Dollars More.
惭耻濒诲辞辞苍鈥檚 experience in Spain taught her that, as a filmmaker dedicated to producing women-driven westerns, she鈥檚 an outlier. She also learned that the appetite for films like Last Stand to Nowhere is very much alive.听听
鈥淭he line I kept hearing was, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e very brave to have made this,鈥� and the festival director thanked me for making this film and said he wants to see more women in westerns,鈥� says Muldoon. 鈥淲e were shown by this renowned and trailblazing western film festival that we belong, and that鈥檚 something we鈥檒l carry with us forever.鈥�
If Muldoon gets her way, Last Stand to Nowhere won鈥檛 be her last western. 鈥淚f I can make more westerns, I would make more westerns, because I think the growth for female filmmakers is not to keep making dramas,鈥� says Muldoon. 鈥淚 think the growth for female filmmakers is to break into the genres that we have traditionally been shut out of. We鈥檝e been doing it somewhat in horror and science fiction, and I think it鈥檚 time we turned to westerns.鈥�
Last Stand to Nowherealso stars Maja Aro, Jenn MacLean-Angus, Sadie Silcock and Julie Lynn Mortensen.
Find out about future local screenings at .
Note: This story has been updated since first published.
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