The Strange Story Of Blasting Betty

The writer-director William Samson builds up an intriguing screenplay to showcase a small snippet of geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial settlement.

The plot of The Strange Story of Blasting Betty revolves around the rugged expanse of the wild West, a solitary woman ventures into a saloon unwittingly entangling herself in the web of trouble with the rowdy locals.

The short film begins with upbeat music as movie title and credit roll in slowly transporting the audience into the timeline it is set in. The makers opt for a narration style of storytelling by a specific character to help the viewers get wider perspective yet a more focused one. The set design, white and brown colour pallet, lighting, music, sound, camera angles, dialogues, costume, hair, makeup, fashion stylist, and props are beautifully designed to complement and elevate the time period so that the audience engages with the movie and they don’t lose interest all through the running time of The Strange Story of Blasting Betty enabling William Samson to communicate the learnings of the film to the audience.

In terms of performance, Bronagh Fallon plays Betty who lives life on her terms breaking almost all stereotypes about ladies as well as womanhood while interacting with men present in the saloon. Fallon perfectly fits the role of Betty with her style of dialogue delivery, voice modulation, body language, facial expressions and eyes complementing the period the movie is set in. Betty is a very inspiring character for the audience as she thrives to survive every situation by being strong and courageous in this male-dominated society.

Ian Lorimer Milne plays Crusty Wagoner who is both an admirer of Betty and beautifully narrates the story of how he and his friends met her. Milne with his storytelling skills provides the pace desired by the makers adds depth, realism, and relatability to the tale.

David Milne plays Texas Turkey and tries to flirt with Betty to make her feel comfortable and safe and Betty gradually drops her guard with him. Milne with his character experiments with his body language, voice modulation, facial expressions to exude the best qualities a woman looks for in the person she likes.

The strange story of Blasting Betty talks about how womanhood was perceived by society back then and the reaction of men when they came across someone who broke all the perceptions as well as gender roles. The short film reiterates that women need love, respect and a sense of safety from men around her helping Betty behave normally in their presence. The cinematic piece highlights the importance of becoming confident, strong, and courageous to combat the social pressure all the ladies tend to go through at some point of time in their lives and choose better lifestyle for themselves as well as their loved ones in the long run.