Westerns tend to have an unapologetically masculine
skew to their castings. The Wild West
was certainly characterised by hard drinking
tough men who coupled entrepreneurship
with resolve and a lack of ethics. Hollywood
would lead you to believe that it was a male
dominated adventure almost to the point of
parody. On screen few women elbowed their
way into this testosterone-laden landscape
and horses were often given more attention.
However, woman must have gone West too,
otherwise birth rates would have slowed a bit.
These women must have been gritty as it was
a journey for only the very stoic. In a genre
that revels in the lone male protagonist, we
wanted to use a still photograph to celebrate
the women of the Wild West. They were not
just window dressing.
The romanticist within me was not going
to be prompted by grotesque characters like
Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Daisy Domergue in
Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. The prostitute
role - so well played by Diane Lane in the
brilliant Lonesome Dove - is also well worn.
We wanted a softer, more palatable narrative,
albeit one with a sense of the woman emphatically
holding her own.
I homed in on the idea of a “tough as nails”
saloon owner, with more class, intelligence and
glamour than any of her unworthy patrons.
We had the saloon in Nevada City - it is such
a good facade - we just needed the woman
and the styling.
We decided on the supermodel Alessandra
Ambrosio and she was indeed perfect for this
role. Her styling team did a great job and the
whole frame works. I think she thoroughly
enjoyed herself that morning.
I am sure there were women like this in the
Wild West in 1850. Let’s hope so. As a collective
they should be celebrated and remembered
and theirs was one hell of a story.