Sure Fire Review
In contrast to the overly mannered All the Vermeers in New York, the film that preceded it, Sure Fire finds director Jon Jost returning to the setting that inspired his innovative early features Last Chants for a Slow Dance and Bell Diamond: the contemporary American West. It also reunites him with Tom Blair, the star of Last Chants, who gives another riveting, psychologically complex performance. Blair's Wes is like something out of a Shakespearean tragedy -- the king of his own tiny domain, whose thirst for power has blinded him to the resentment brewing within those closest to him. Like in his other collaborations with Jost, Last Chants and The Bed You Sleep In, Blair's obvious rapport with his director deepens his performance, making this one of Jost's most consistently compelling and accomplished films. Working for the first time in 35 mm, Jost made it with a crew of two (himself and a sound recordist), but the film's technical polish rivals that of Hollywood features. Punctuated by Biblical quotes, haunting music, and contemplative shots of the Utah landscape in crisp autumnal light, Sure Fire marks a high point in Jost's filmmaking career. Tom Vick, Rovi
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