The synopsis of "Gone Are the Days" makes it sound more provocative than this turn-of-the-century western actually is. Initially, I was drawn to it because I've always enjoyed Lance Henriksen's acting. Furthermore, Henriksen is the star for a change rather than just a supporting actor. Tom Berenger is no slouch either despite his paunch co-stars, and Steve Railsback is every bit as villainous as he was in the 1976 television movie "Helter Skelter." "The Stunt Man" (1980) and "Lifeforce" (1985) are two of his more memorable movies. Meantime, Henriksen looks as decrepit as the character he portrays, a notorious bank robber named Taylon Flynn. You could describe Flynn as 'more dead than alive.' Literally at the end of his rope, he teeters on the brink of mortality. Holed up on his ramshackle ranch, this cantankerous cuss survives on whiskey, cigarettes, and his own brand of orneriness. Indeed, death hovers over him despite the heroin cough serum that Dr. Jenkins (Jamie McShane of "Nightcrawler") prescribes for him. The doctor doesn't expect Taylon to live longer than three days, so he promises to return soon with a priest. Everything in "Gone Are the Days" is filtered through Taylon's perspective. Since he is off his rocker at least three-fourths of the time, this western takes some odd twists and turns. Some of his encounters are symbolic, such as when he encounters Danny Trejo during his ride to the town of Hesperus. Taylon wants to rob a bank in Durango. In a last act of redemption, he plans to hand over everything to the daughter he abandoned twenty years ago. He cannot bring himself to tell her the truth, and she only learns about their relationship when he leaves her a scribbled letter stashed with the cash. Dimly, he remembers that his wife was hanged from a tree outside his ranch, too. Western movie aficionados may spot some resemblance between "Gone Are the Days" and Don Siegel's unforgettable classic "The Shootist" (1976) where John Wayne's cancer-stricken gunslinger, John Bernard Books, chose to go out in a blaze of glory, shooting it out with three desperadoes in a bar. Books did mankind some good by killing this ruffians, but he wound up dying, too. Unfortunately, director Mark Landre Gould wears out his welcome with this muddled horse opera, and the brief shoot0ut at the end is nothing to get excited about in terms of cinematic gunplay.
Although it clocks in at 100 minutes, hours seem to pass before anything significant happens. For example, the first 22-minutes consist of an ailing Taylon struggling to get up, stay up, button his jacket, fetch a pail of water from a well, and climb aboard a horse without succumbing to a fainting spell. These antics are supposed to be amusing any more than they are dramatic. One of his old bank robbing accomplices, Virgil (Billy Lush of "Straw Dogs"), shows up at Taylon's ranch. He wants to ride with Taylon again on one last job. Something suspicious about this far younger character made me think he was a ghost. Initially, he looks like he could be a genuine person, but many things about him are suspect. Once Taylon decides to head to town to see if he can find Heidi, he doubles back and burns down his ranch. Eventually, Taylon locates his daughter in Hesperus where she is working as a prostitute for Jaden. Jaden is a sleazy person who shot a man in the back that ran the local stable that he now owns. Heidi (cute television actress Meg Steedle) used to work in the stable, but Jaden persuaded her to work on the line with the rest of the soiled doves. Taylon isn't happy when he learns about the murder of the stable man, and he gets downright outraged when he hears Heidi is selling her body. After he arrives in Hesperus, Taylon is mad that a city ordinance requires him to relinquish his firearms. He goes to Jaden's saloon and promptly drinks himself into a stupor and passes out. He wakes up in Heidi's room and struggles to tell her about himself, but he cannot bring himself to do it.
First-time scenarist Gregory M. Tucker's screenplay bristles with possibilities, but the leaden pace wipes out any sense of spontaneity. Watching Lance Henriksen wandering around in his long johns looks amusing at first but eventually it grows tiresome. Railsback delivers a wonderful performance as an abrasive dastard of pimp who owns a bordello. He gives Heidi a bad time. Primarily, Taylon rides to rob a bank in Durango to make life easier for his daughter, Heidi after he has passed away. Berenger plays elegantly attired town marshal Will McMullen who claims to have ridden with the Texas Rangers. He has an interesting conversation with two profane miners in a family restaurant who question his honesty. McMullen knows about Taylon, and he is surprised when the old outlaw does rob the bank of Durango. Jaden has followed both Taylon and Heidi to Durango. Heidi tried to kill him and did burn down his stable. During a shootout after the bank hold-up, Taylon kills Jaden, and Heidi escapes. Since Taylon has killed Jaden and all his henchmen, Heidi can leave Durango on a train. Ultimately, this saddle-sore saga lumbers along with a few interesting touches like a ghost of a gunfighter that Taylon knew. The most enigmatic character above all is another figment of Taylon's imagination, Riverman (Danny Trejo of "Heat"), who resembles Charon in Greek mythology, the ferryman who rows the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron which separates the world of the living from the dead. At one point, Taylon witnesses his own corpse floating downstream on a door with coins over his eyes. "Gone Are the Days" marks Mark Gould's debut as a movie director so I cannot criticize him. The interesting premise and the seasoned cast make this oater tolerable only for western fans who have time on their hands.
