Hostiles (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Set in 1892, 'Hostiles' - a grim, lengthy, but involving "revisionist" Western directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Black Mass) - tells the story of legendary Army Capt. Joe Blocker (Christian Bale). Embittered by a life of hatred & death in the cold, hard wilderness, Blocker is assigned - against his will - to accompany dying Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi, of Dancing with Wolves, Last of the Mohicans) and his 4 family members (including Adam Beach & Qorianka Kilcher) from an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico all the way back to the burial grounds of his native Valley of the Bears, Montana. Blocker puts up strong resistance to this task, not only because of his prejudices acquired over a career fighting barbaric Native Americans, but also because this whole 'escort the Indians' thing is a PR stunt ordered by the President. But Blocker has no choice and heads out on the mission across perilous terrain with his fellow military officers (including Jesse Plemons, Jonathan Majors & Timothee Chalamet), the Chief & his family.
Along the way they pick up a grieving Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike), whose family was massacred in a Comanche attack {this horrifying sequence is the 1st scene of the movie}; in a state of shock, she struggles to dig shallow graves for her slaughtered family. Tensions are high, but something is brewing along the journey: the Indian women offer Rosalie clothes to wear; one of the prejudiced officers, Metz (Rory Cochrane), admits that he is troubled by "melancholia" {depression} and, seeks forgiveness from Chief Yellow Hawk for the crimes he committed against N.A.'s over the course of his career; and when Blocker is asked to take-on a former friend/officer (Ben Foster) who is now a criminal for butchering Indians, Blocker is forced to look back at his own murderous misdeeds in a different light. Together, they ALL put aside differences and join forces to overcome the brutal landscape & 'hostile' Comanches & savage people that they run into along the way.
Though this film reminds me of 1956's The Searchers, it feels more in line with a Dances with Wolves, The New World (also starring Bale & Qorianka Kilcher) or The Revenant (mostly this, given the bleak, violent nature of the proceedings). You know, 'Hostiles' certainly looks like a Western; there are dusty outposts, rugged lands, world-weary officers, Native Americans, rifles, daggers & scalpings. But as mentioned above, this really is one of those revisionist Westerns that we've seen more of in recent years -- this Western is more of a morality play for most of our characters. At the heart of the journey IS a slow move towards understanding & acceptance of differences that have created walls for Blocker, his officers and the Native Americans.
Through Bale's superb, heartrending portrayal, we see in his weary eyes everything we need to know about him. Bale is the rare kind of actor/movie star who doesn't need a lot of dialogue to create a fully dimensional, flawed man. And I totally bought the arc that his character undergoes. Rosamund Pike is stellar as Rosalie, the pioneer woman who loses it all, wallows in PTSD, then has to learn how to live again in that unforgiving kind of existence. Pike has a few of the movie's most emotionally challenging scenes and, she nails the 'despair' very well. Wes Studi brings integrity & gravitas to a role with little dialogue, but great import. And every other actor provides authentic, well-rendered performances. Crafts-wise, Masanobu Takayanagi's cinematography (beautiful landscape shots), the editing (remarkable during the bursts of action), the production design/costumes (beautifully organic to the time & place) & the sound work (crisp) are all top-notch.
Scott Cooper injects various ideas/themes that make 'Hostiles' relevant to issues going on today: that America still wants to hate & finds it difficult to mend the divide that continues to rip us apart. I loved that both Bale & Studi's characters find it hard to change a lifetime of attitude {they both loathe each other inherently}, but when forced to align, some of that prejudice melts away. And I found the scenes in which both men speak Cheyenne to each other to be quietly riveting. You know, 'Hostiles' won't be for everybody. Even fans of Westerns might find the run time a tad exorbitant & the pacing too deliberate. That there are some brutal & unpleasant scenes could deter some, too. But this emotionally intense film really got me in the end. 'Hostiles' shows that, in times of racial animosity, despite our prejudices, if we are willing to stake the steps to redemption, acceptance & understanding ... then the world would be a better place for all.
Along the way they pick up a grieving Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike), whose family was massacred in a Comanche attack {this horrifying sequence is the 1st scene of the movie}; in a state of shock, she struggles to dig shallow graves for her slaughtered family. Tensions are high, but something is brewing along the journey: the Indian women offer Rosalie clothes to wear; one of the prejudiced officers, Metz (Rory Cochrane), admits that he is troubled by "melancholia" {depression} and, seeks forgiveness from Chief Yellow Hawk for the crimes he committed against N.A.'s over the course of his career; and when Blocker is asked to take-on a former friend/officer (Ben Foster) who is now a criminal for butchering Indians, Blocker is forced to look back at his own murderous misdeeds in a different light. Together, they ALL put aside differences and join forces to overcome the brutal landscape & 'hostile' Comanches & savage people that they run into along the way.
Though this film reminds me of 1956's The Searchers, it feels more in line with a Dances with Wolves, The New World (also starring Bale & Qorianka Kilcher) or The Revenant (mostly this, given the bleak, violent nature of the proceedings). You know, 'Hostiles' certainly looks like a Western; there are dusty outposts, rugged lands, world-weary officers, Native Americans, rifles, daggers & scalpings. But as mentioned above, this really is one of those revisionist Westerns that we've seen more of in recent years -- this Western is more of a morality play for most of our characters. At the heart of the journey IS a slow move towards understanding & acceptance of differences that have created walls for Blocker, his officers and the Native Americans.
Through Bale's superb, heartrending portrayal, we see in his weary eyes everything we need to know about him. Bale is the rare kind of actor/movie star who doesn't need a lot of dialogue to create a fully dimensional, flawed man. And I totally bought the arc that his character undergoes. Rosamund Pike is stellar as Rosalie, the pioneer woman who loses it all, wallows in PTSD, then has to learn how to live again in that unforgiving kind of existence. Pike has a few of the movie's most emotionally challenging scenes and, she nails the 'despair' very well. Wes Studi brings integrity & gravitas to a role with little dialogue, but great import. And every other actor provides authentic, well-rendered performances. Crafts-wise, Masanobu Takayanagi's cinematography (beautiful landscape shots), the editing (remarkable during the bursts of action), the production design/costumes (beautifully organic to the time & place) & the sound work (crisp) are all top-notch.
Scott Cooper injects various ideas/themes that make 'Hostiles' relevant to issues going on today: that America still wants to hate & finds it difficult to mend the divide that continues to rip us apart. I loved that both Bale & Studi's characters find it hard to change a lifetime of attitude {they both loathe each other inherently}, but when forced to align, some of that prejudice melts away. And I found the scenes in which both men speak Cheyenne to each other to be quietly riveting. You know, 'Hostiles' won't be for everybody. Even fans of Westerns might find the run time a tad exorbitant & the pacing too deliberate. That there are some brutal & unpleasant scenes could deter some, too. But this emotionally intense film really got me in the end. 'Hostiles' shows that, in times of racial animosity, despite our prejudices, if we are willing to stake the steps to redemption, acceptance & understanding ... then the world would be a better place for all.