The use of the word “legend” in the title and the Western-style setting in the Australian outback show the influence of classics like “Fort Apache,” “Rio Bravo,” and “The Searchers.” Like those films, there is a mythic tone to the story of the struggle of untamed settlers in an untamed wilderness. We hear a British military officer who is assigned to bring order to the area cautioned by his wife: “Whilst hunting savages in this land, please do not turn into one.” As that suggests, this film engages more critically with issues of masculinity, colonialism, injustice, and abuse than its mid-century predecessors. The military officer’s wife, a crisp but sympathetic Jessica De Gouw as Louisa Klintoff, is the closest we have to a representative of the filmmaker’s view and, she hopes, of ours. Skillfully weaving in themes of race, gender, abuse, and historic injustice while making each character authentically human, the film calls on us to consider the human strength and the human cost of history.
Molly lives in a remote cabin with her children. Her husband is gone for months at a time as a “drover,” moving livestock from one area to another. Purcell wisely lets close-ups of her own face convey more than any action or dialogue could about who Molly is, what matters most to her, and what made her the person whose expression shows the struggle between constant worry and resolute determination. We first see Molly aiming her gun at an intruder, as she does repeatedly throughout the story. She has reason to suspect that anyone coming near her property means to take something from her and her children. Her only option is to aim first and fast. “I will shoot you where you stand and bury you where you fall,” she threatens one trespasser.
In that first encounter, though, it is she who takes. A bull has wandered their way. She shoots it between the eyes with no hesitation to make dinner for her children. The next to come by, enticed by the aroma of the beef, are the Klintoffs, Louisa and her husband, Nate (Sam Reid), just arrived from London and a bit dazed by the vastness of Australia. They persuade Molly that they mean no harm and she allows them to stay. As they talk, she decides to entrust them with taking her children to town to get provisions. And there is another reason; she is about to give birth, and it is best for them not to be there.