A young girl, Megan Wheeler prayed for a miracle after her dog got killed in a raid. John Wick cometh? Not even close. It’s Clint Eastwood as the Preacher.
A classical Hollywood Western, "clean up town" themed film. Yes. But not a generic one. On top of the brilliant screenwriting lies some reference to myth and metaphor.
HOW TO INTRO YOUR HERO 101
Intro 1. When Megan was praying for a miracle, a silhouette appears on screen of a rider at the same time. He is the miracle.
Intro 2. The Preacher’s first screen presence is a long shot with the mountain range as his background looking at a group of bullies beating down Hull Barret who trying to get supplies for his town folks. The second time the bullies look, the Preacher is gone. The next thing they know, all got beaten down single-handedly.
Intro 3. Then, the Preacher’s first arrival to the village came at the same time when Megan Wheeler is in the middle of reading a passage from Chapter 6 of the Bible.
Her mother then gaze through the window and see exactly what her daughter is reading,
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death,"
Megan joined her mother looking at him and continues "and Hell followed with him..."
No special effects and self-introduction. Needed. Not even a title intro.
SHOW DON'T TELL
This is what is missing in today's cinema. Everything has to be spoon-fed or otherwise, it will be deemed rubbish.
It is the mystery of who he really is that gave him the aura and presence. The genuine fear of the unknown.
Yet, hints are being shown there and then throughout the film about his past. The six bullet scar wound on his back. His masterful gunslinging. The white dog collar and his knowledge of the law.
No flashbacks. No backstory.
WHO IS HE? HE IS THE PREACHER. BUT WHO IS HE? He knows the law, it pisses the Baron off. He knows who Marshall Stockburn is but he is not saying so. He even knows how much is it to hire Stockburn and his 6 Deputies!
He also kept an 1858 Remington, a leather holster with a stack of bullets hidden in a deposit box. Again, he knows how to shoot for sure. He shows little Josh Lahood the way when he was about to rape Megan.
And the manner how he handled the 6 Deputies and Stockburn himself in the finale. Also, the six shots he gave Stockburn are in the same way as the scar wound he got on his back. Even with all these hints, who he is?
Stockburn recognized him at the end. It might have been him who put the six rounds on the Preacher back then.
When asked by the Baron, he said, "Sounds like a man I once knew."
The Baron then replies, "Might be. He recognized your name". Stockburn looks at the Baron. Shocked.
"Couldn't be. The man I'm thinking about is dead" says Stockburn.
The Preacher might have been once a Marshall himself (with the skill with guns and wits) He might have been fighting the corrupt ones (including Stockburn) which eventually almost cost him his life. He apparently survived the ordeal and become a Christian priest.
Why he ended up wandering the land to the point he encountered Hull being beaten in the town? Don’t know. But looking at it from other perspectives might give us some hints.
THE AMERICAN MONOMYTH
His presence is mythical. Especially with the timing after Megan's prayer for a miracle. Adding to it is his visual relevance to the Biblical verse about one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.
It is the embodiment and a revelation of a prayer coming true.
Although my theory about him being a Marshall, this aspect of mysticism takes the Preacher character up a few levels above a normal western hero archetype.
It is the dog collar that he wears which has earned him the title the Preacher. Megan's mother Sarah has asked him many times but he is somewhat reluctant to answer. Or he simply could not remember. Hence might be one of the reasons why he is lost and wandering around the snowy mountains.
Or according to Robert Jewett, The American Monomyth, 1977,
“In the American monomyth, the hero is an outsider who comes into a once-perfect community in peril (the “violated Eden”) to confront the evils that have caused trouble. The hero eschews such things as joining the community, standing apart from them to better keep them safe, in a manner that could best be described as vigilantism. Once the evil has been vanquished, the hero either allows himself to absorb into the community (through such means as moving in, marrying, etc.), or he moves on to the next violated Eden.”
THE LORD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS
That is the line he said after he managed to deal with the giant Club. The giant scares him by sledgehammering the huge rock and splitting it into two before the Preacher knocks his nose and balls.
The miracle here is that they didn't have to hammer to huge rock anymore. And they soon found their first golden nugget from it the next day.
The same can be said about the timing of the Preacher's arrival. A miracle. Need no further explanation.
Being a Christian preacher also has somehow earned him a Christ-like stature. Being a savior of the needy in most of the part when it comes to the villagers. For Megan, he is the answer to her prayers for an act of revenge. For Sarah, it is the answer to her long-lost desire for love. For Hull, it is a mentor figure to teach him the right way to lead. For the people of LaHood, he is hoping to fight against oppression by the people of the Baron over their gold mine and livelihood.
But for others, especially Stockburn, he is just bad news. He admits to the Baron that he might have known someone like the Preacher but he is sure that he is already dead. Even though it might have been the Preacher coming to town to settle the score, metaphorically, Stockburn might have also recognized his own death coming his way.
Which suits the Bible first on his second intro,
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death,"
Also, the fear in Stockburn's eyes knowing who it is he is facing. "You". Twice. And halted upon drawing his gun (not really typical for a Marshall). But it is Death. No delaying that. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
RESURRECTION
Another hero archetype characteristic that is typical in almost any religion is the stage where they got resurrected. Jesus got it. Islam got it and also the ancient Persian, just to name a few.
In film we have hero characters like Neo in the Matrix who got resurrected after being shot by Agent Smith, just to transcend to a higher level of existence.
Like Jesus Christ.
Also how Superman after his death back in 1994, was been resurrected, completing the Christ-like biblical journey.
Like the Preacher.
The Preacher might have been proclaimed dead by Stockburn, but apparently has been religiously resurrected and got himself into Christianity. Hence the quote shared earlier from Joseph Campbell.
"The hero’s death and resurrection is a model for the casting off of the old life and moving into the new."
HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES IN THEIR OWN JOURNEYS.
The Preacher is not the only hero in this story. Further referring to Joseph Campbell's idea of a hero with a thousand faces, it is actually can be applied to all of the good characters in this film. Each is the hero in their journey.
The most appealing example is Hull as the leader of his community. It is him who made the trip alone to the town to buy supplies on debt. and risk facing the LaHood's men. He then decided to stay and risk the coming of Stockburn and his Deputies if they refuse to take the bribe offer. He also took the long walk back to town to help the Preacher and eventually saved him from the Baron's rifle.
Sarah's hero journey is her plight to just survive and move on as a mother, and soon wife to Hull. Young Megan's journey is she is learning about love. The villager's journey is to be united and fight together.
As Christ-like as the Preacher is, the character has encountered few instances that show he is merely human. The giant, Club, saved him from getting shot by Josh. And as said earlier, Hull saved him from Baron.
Also, his need for love in that scene with Sarah. The next morning Hull gave him the look and mock the rifle at him. The Preacher managed to make a quick escape.
All in all, we are all the hero in our journey. Especially at times like this. We need to be the miracle.
