Murder at Yellowstone City (2022) | Film Review

From the onset of Murder at Yellowstone City, the proceedings play out like any other western. A small mining town vibe is established as the citizens of Yellowstone City grow weary over the lack of gold to be found in them thar hills, a local watering hole slash brothel gather the townsfolk in one unique location, and a mysterious loner wanders in with ominous curiosity. All of that changes when one particular man bursts in screaming he has struck gold, a lot of it. Within hours, that same man is found murdered.

Rather than saturate our screens with yet another oater filled with one tense gunfight after another, Murder at Yellowstone City sets out to do what very few outside of The Hateful Eight have done: craft a genuine murder mystery in the Old West. It is a novel concept that deserves more attention from storytellers, as a mystery is far more riveting without all of the technologies and DNA profiles that can be found today to assist crime fighters.

All of the cliches are still present, as the victim has many hater. Our loner, Cicero (a quietly restrained Isaiah Mustafa), is a former slave turned badass gunfighter turned easy patsy for the real murderer; Thaddeus (the perpetually underrated Thomas Jane) is a priest with a hidden past; Emma Dunnigan (Scottie Thompson) is anxious to leave now that her murdered husband has left her widowed; Isabel (Aimee Garcia) is a prostitute with a heart of gold; and Sheriff Jim Ambrose (Gabriel Byrne) just wants justice by way of expeditious resolution for his town. Many other western standards abide, but you get the gist.

Cast wise, Murder at Yellowstone City is an absolute dream for an indie production. There is not a single member who does not deliver when called to action, and as the mystery plays out for the first two acts, many are called as director Richard Gray slow burns towards the final act’s inevitable shootout. The two standouts, industry veterans Thomas Jane and Gabriel Byrne, riff off each other marvelously, each taking on the other’s role in many aspects as Ambrose will do anything to maintain the peace, while Thaddeus refuses to accept a rushed judgment on Cicero’s perceived guilt.

While the cast does everything they can to create a memorable experience and Gray’s camera showcases a scope of a film with a much larger budget, Eric Belgau’s script struggles to define exactly what it wants to be. Is this a tempered murder mystery, an allegory for the price of greed, a statement on frontier justice, or possibly something else? The concept is sound, the pieces fit, but the execution is wonky as the story unravels into a vastly average western that wanders aimlessly amidst the tumbleweeds.

Murder at Yellowstone City is worth a watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon, but the potential for something special continuously festers just under the surface, never quite breaking through. With a bit more polish, this could have emerged as a memorable cinematic endeavor firing on all cylinders. Instead, we are left with a draw.