Reworking of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge set in 19th-century California and starring Peter Mullan. Daniel Dillon is a wealthy man who rules over the town of Kingdom Come. But his position of power becomes threatened by the approach of the railroads and his own shameful past.
Michael Winterbottom follows up his earlier Thomas Hardy adaptation, Jude (1996), with this ambitious drama inspired by The Mayor of Casterbridge. Originally titled Kingdom Come (the name of the gold-rush town where it is set), the film boasts some superb performances from a cast that includes Nastassja Kinski, Milla Jovovich, Peter Mullan, Sarah Polley and Wes Bentley. Mullan plays Daniel Dillon, who sells his wife and baby daughter to a gold prospector in return for the claim to a gold mine. Years later, he has built the town of Kingdom Come and enjoys a relationship with a brothel owner (Jovovich), but the past returns to haunt him in the form of his dying wife (Kinski) and grown-up daughter (Polley). Reminiscent of Heaven's Gate in places, this is beautifully filmed by Winterbottom and cinematographer Alwin Kuchler - packed with stunning scenery and wintry wastelands. And, while some of the characters aren't fully developed (namely Polley's and Bentley's), this is nonetheless a fascinating and often haunting tale.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Daniel Dillon | Peter Mullan |
| Lucia | Milla Jovovich |
| Dalglish | Wes Bentley |
| Elena Dillon | Nastassja Kinski |
| Hope Dillon | Sarah Polley |
| Annie | Shirley Henderson |
| Bellanger | Julian Richings |
| Priest | Randy Birch |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Winterbottom |
