IR Film Review: LAST TRAIN TO FORTUNE [Vitograph]

“Last Train To Fortune” is a family affair that is more an ode of tone and values that anything else. Adam Rifkin, known most for writing "Small Soldiers" and "Mouse Hunt" back in the early 2000s directs Malcolm McDowell as a disenfranchised teacher named Cecil who ends up in the Old West on his way to the town of Fortune in the desert along with his books. He misses a train and ends up hiring (after almost being stuck up) by a would be mercenary named Dooley (James Paxton, son of the late Bill Paxton). This film is a love letter in many ways. McDowell plays a lover of books and a bit of a fuddy duddy which, because of his earlier work is a great irony and he wears it with pride. Paxton is less experienced but again he plays ode to his dad who liked these kinds of films. Each of these characters are teaching the other. The arch of Dooley is a nice one too and against the grain without losing its edge or its heart.

Some different actors that show up along the way are great simply if you know their backstory as well including Bernadette Peters and MC Gainey. The best one though is the one in the ending one specifically because of its history and what it symbolizes on multiple levels. McDowell does dedicate the film to Lindsey Andersen who directed him in "IF", before "A Clockwork Orange" and when I talked to Malcolm in depth at a film festival many years ago, that director seemed to be a major figure in his creative life from the beginning. The film is dedicated to him and Bill Paxton. McDowell does play his fuddy duddy angle a bit over the top but does it with honesty though the simple act is tongue-in-cheek. This is a simple western but with a very positive bent which is what sets it apart. It was mostly shot right on the outskirts of the Los Angeles area near Palmdale. The music was also down by McDowell’s youngest son Beckett who also performs the songs and the film was written by Rifkin's mother Muichelle. "Last Train To Fortune" is a nice ode to the western that knows its lane and possibilities but is made as a family affair reflecting a certain set of values that rings nicely. 83%/B

By Tim Wassberg