Dalton Coffey’s Fall Is a Good Time to Die (2025) follows a young man burdened by the weight of his past. It’s a classic trope that fits right into the framework of a Western genre film. Taking a cue from those classics, Coffey’s film is also about justice, redemption, and the consequences of one’s actions. However, much like any other neo-Western, it makes some refreshing creative choices. It unfolds like a slow-burn mystery thriller and focuses more on the character than the plot. It wants us to be invested in their psychological turmoil more than the cursory details of their journey. The script hopes we ponder upon their moral dilemma instead of simply knowing where they end up.
With this intention, Coffey introduces two characters who want to shed the burden from their past. It draws them to the same conflict but from different points of view. The first is of Cody (Joe Hiatt), a young ranch hand who lost his sister at a young age. As a twenty-something man, he spends his days helping a ranch owner with daily chores while staying away from where he was born and raised. Still, he seems to have found comfort in the leisurely pace of his life, even if he is not around those he grew up with.
Cody seeks joy in his humdrum routine and tries to build new relationships in this piece of land. He seems open to new possibilities and content in knowing his life is sound and secure, with plenty to look forward to even while living in an RV van. Yet, it all changes when his aunt Trista (Joey Lauren Adams) comes knocking on his door, meaning to share something Cody would rather shut out from his life. She believes she is being considerate by telling him, but that’s not the case for him. Instead, her words bring back his resentment and regret from when he was too young to harbor either of these emotions.
Apart from Cody, Coffey’s film tracks Jane (Jennifer Pierce Mathus), a county sheriff who is trying to make peace with some things she has done. The script doesn’t offer a complete picture of her life, but it reveals just enough details to get us invested in her anguish. She is a lone woman trying to go through every passing day while reflecting on her choices. In Coffey’s minimally plotted script, Jane appears in only a few scenes. Yet, thanks to Mathus, we get to see more layers of her personality. So, instead of someone barely trying to survive, the film becomes about this woman making a case for their existence despite the tiring and all-consuming dread of their everyday life.
Mathus’ performance is easily the highlight of this film, which can be rewarding only with actors who can prove their mettle. The film is filled with scenes where the camera is just observing her or other characters from a distance. Mathus embodies Jane’s grit and resilience and is remarkably intricate even in its sappier scenes. She understands the inherent rhythm of this drama and ensures she churns out most of Jane’s tough act even if she appears briefly on the screen. While Mathus paints quite a vivid picture of Jane’s dilemma, Hiatt pales significantly in comparison to her. Oftentimes, he speaks in a monotone and takes away the intrinsic drama of some of its crucial scenes.
Monotone in itself is not a bad acting choice if it serves a purpose within the context of a film or if it doesn’t conceal the subtext required to be conveyed through the dialogues. Take Anton Chigurh from ‘No Country for Old Men’ as an example. Javier Bardem speaks in a rather incomprehensible accent but even then, his monotone gets to the bottom of the menace Chigurh establishes in nearly every scene. Unlike him, Hiatt’s brooding silence fails to communicate anything deeper about Cody’s agony.
Hiatt’s performance could have been as devastating as Tommy Lee Jones’s character from NCFOM who is morally shaken by the state of the world. If not, it could have had an edge or a bite as Matthew McConaughey’s performance did in ‘True Detective’ or ‘Mud’. Instead, it falls flat to the point it dulls the overall impact of the film, which is gorgeously shot by Coffey, who also makes some fascinating choices as the editor. There’s plenty to admire about Coffey’s craft as he uses vast landscapes for some intensely poetic shots that deepen the darkness in his characters’ lives.
Despite taking visual cues from neo-westerns to build moments of anticipation and savagery devoid of cliches, ‘Fall Is a Good Time to Die’ carves an identity of its own. Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite cut it, considering Hiatt’s dull central performance.
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