WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Harder They Fall, now streaming on Netflix and available in select theaters.
In The Harder They Fall, it seems like a pretty straightforward Neo-Western flick with the outlaw Nathaniel Love (Jonathan Majors) hunting the sadistic Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) after Rufus killed Nat’s parents decades earlier. Now, in the wake of a pardon, Rufus has taken back his Redwood town, leaving Nat angry that he could be cut free like this. However, as Nat comes for revenge, the final act changes their rivalry immensely with a dark twist that reveals Rufus’ act wasn’t random.
In the opening act, a despicable Rufus quietly takes Nat’s home, shooting up his parents just as they’re about to pray and eat. He then brands a cross on the 10-year-old boy’s head with a knife, seemingly out of pleasure, but when Nat’s gang razes Redwood in the finale, he totally shatters everything Nat believed in with the bombshell that they share the same blood.
Nat goes into the saloon expecting a firefight but Rufus’ back is to him, not even interested in a war. Rufus then confesses that his father was abusive, beating him and his mother, eventually killing her. The outlaw ran, condemning Rufus to a life of rage and vengeance, which culminated in him finding out his dad turned good, becoming a pastor.
It turns out that his father settled down, having a wife and son, giving them the life Rufus, who was 10 at the time too, wishes he and his mother had. The fiend then stuns Nat by admitting that very man is Nat’s dad; thus, Nat’s actually Nathaniel Buck. A jealous Rufus couldn’t bring himself to shoot his brother down that day, instead of marking him so he’d recognize when he eventually came for revenge.
It’s why Rufus doesn’t put up a fight as he relates to Nat, with the cross-holding double meaning as Rufus couldn’t believe a devil like their dad could switch to become a man of God, more so one rebranded with the last name “Love.” Nat doesn’t believe the revelation, though, with Rufus then begging him to shoot him down. Rufus even taunts him, making it clear the ultimate revenge didn’t turn out to be murdering their dad, but sending Nat down the same path their father ran from.
Nat’s become a robber, killer and tyrant too, obsessed with darkness, and as Rufus teases, it was inevitable he’d become a version of their dad. Thus, he’s achieved his goal by staining his dad’s legacy, so he’s at peace with himself. It’s cliched somewhat but messed up as the actors’ performances and emotional resonance stand out, especially as Nat is struggling, knowing that by killing his brother, he will cement himself as a monster.
He’s searched all his life for this moment, but he can tell Rufus has won, no matter if he lives or dies by Nat’s hand. More so, as Rufus repeatedly calls him “Nathaniel Buck,” scathingly so at that, it becomes clear this is a film where no hero exists, leaving a tearful Nat divided on the path to take. What’s also moving is Rufus does seem repentant, because while he now wishes for death to take his pain away, he realizes what he’s done to Nat by manipulating their vendetta, scarring his sibling’s soul the same way his was when their drunk dad murdered Rufus’ innocent mother.
See how Rufus breaks Nat Love’s world in The Harder They Fall, now streaming on Netflix and available in select theaters.
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