It's no secret that Westerns are having a moment. The insane response to Taylor Sheridan's gritty Paramount series Yellowstone ignited a resurgence in a genre that most people had written off as a relic of the Golden Age. But over the past couple of years, every streaming platform has tried its luck at re-creating some of that Wild West magic.
One of the latest projects to join this new wave is Lionsgate's Two Sinners and a Mule, which follows an unlikely trio — two prostitutes and a bounty hunter — as they track down a notorious criminal with a large reward on his head.
At the heart of this spirited Western is Chantelle Albers, who plays the free-spirited Alice. After being kicked out of a small town for "sinful behavior," she heads off to Virginia City with her pal Nora (Hannah James) to pursue her dream of opening up a restaurant. While Albers says Alice wants to put her unlawful past behind her, she can't ignore the opportunity of a big payoff when she and Nora come across an injured Elden (Cam Gigandet), who is in hot pursuit of a criminal.
A chase ensues and, pretty soon, Alice finds herself embroiled with a ruthless bandit, a tension-filled love triangle, and a whole lot more than she bargained for.
Wide Open Country spoke to Albers about what it was like playing this wild and daring character in her first-ever Western, and some of the iconic stunts she pulled off in the film.
James Dauterman
WOC: It seems like everyone is putting out a Western right now. How does Two Sinners and a Mule stand out from the other stories that we're seeing?
Albers: The thing that I think makes it stand out is the trio aspect and the two female heroines. There are not a lot of Westerns with a female heroine. The other thing that I think is kind of interesting about it is that there's a lot of comedy. Bits and pieces that give it that Bonanza-type of feel. But there's also a lot of heartache — and a lot of gunfights and adventures.
You grew up on a ranch and started riding horses at the age of 4. So even though the genre was new for you, were some of the elements familiar?
Definitely. I would help my dad get cattle in on horseback, and that's kind of along the same lines as these two ladies. Once they're kicked out of town, they're on the wide open range on horseback with nothing but their mules. So you definitely develop a connection to animals. I feel like people back then had a connection to animals because they were used in their everyday life.
Did your experience with horses and riding make prepping for the role easier?
I've been riding western my whole life, but it was just good to go there and get familiar with the horses and develop a bond. When you develop chemistry with them, things go smoother on set.
Did you work with the same horse the whole time?
I did. My horse, Duke, didn't really want to listen to me in the beginning. But he's a really sweet horse. After you work with them for a while, they just start to listen to you and trust you more.
What else did you learn at Cowboy Camp?
The John Wayne spin cock — I learned how to do it in 10 days because I started on day two of Cowboy Camp. That's kind of a cool move that I was pretty proud of being able to knock down in a short time like that.
I know you did most of your own stunts in the movie, and it looked like there were a fair amount of intense action scenes. Was it pretty physically challenging to shoot?
There were definitely some scenes where everything needed to be so precise. They're always a lot of fun to shoot, especially the wagon scene. That was one of my favorite scenes to shoot. There's just so much adventure in it, and Alice gets to defend herself.
Lionsgate
You don't see a lot of female protagonists in Westerns, definitely not two. How does your character deviate from the norm of what we usually see?
One thing that I really admire about Alice is she starts off as a sinner but, once they're kicked out of town, she has this awakening. She ends up kind of starting anew and having a rebirth, if you will. She's the one that wants to stop being a sinner, and she wants to start a new life. She wants to do something that's an honest living.
It's also kind of unique because Alice focuses on her faith a lot in the movie. While they're on the road, she really seems to find God ... and I think that's something people can walk away with and be inspired by. Just keeping faith and knowing that you are going to be taken care of.
Where did you gather inspiration to play Alice?
When I read the script, I was kind of inspired by her character, where she starts and where she ends. So I was kind of inspired to play her just from the script itself. I thought it was really well written. Beau Hilliard is the writer of it, and though it's been through many different versions, I always really liked Alice and how she starts from A and then ends up at Z.
She just has such a different character, unlike any other character that I've been able to play. I normally play villains or bad guys, and Alice has maybe done some bad things, but she's a good guy.
Do you think that the genre as a whole could use more of these kinds of dynamics and female leads?
I think we need different stuff out there. Anything that's kind of new or a different version of what we've seen before is always good.
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Two Sinners and a Mule is currently in theaters across the country and available to stream on Prime Video, Apple TV, Spectrum and YouTube.
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