Film Review - Hostiles (15)

You have no idea what war does to a man.

I'll get it said at the start - I'm unapologetically a fan of westerns. At their best they're hard-edged morality plays, exploring our most primal human traits. It's clear that writer/director Scott Cooper loves the genre too, in fact it seems he's been steeped in it from birth. His new film Hostiles combines the sweeping vistas of the classic John Ford era with the brutality of Clint Eastwood's revisionist westerns like The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven. The result is a tough, unflinching character drama on an epic backdrop. It's gruelling, and it's beautiful.

Set in post-Civil War America Hostiles stars Christian Bale as Union Cavalry officer Joseph Blocker, a man possessed by hatred of the Cheyenne tribesmen he has been fighting for decades. His final mission before retirement, ironically, is to escort a dying Cheyenne chief and his family back to their native Montana, so that the man can die on his home territory. Thus Blocker's longtime enemy falls within his and his men's protection. 

The trek from the New Mexico fort across the wilds of Colorado is complicated by an encounter with frontierswoman Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike), who has undergone trauma all her own. And the entire group comes under threat from a ruthless group of Comanches, who may prevent any of them - white or Native American - from completing their journey. To say the road ahead will be tough is a spectacular understatement.

Hostiles covers well-worn storytelling territory, but delves deeper than usual into the psychological toll of conflict on cavalry soldiers. Bale is excellent as Blocker, a man burnt out by war and poisoned by hatred, whose odyssey will force him to confront his own nature and the crimes of his people. Recovering his long-buried humanity is a painful business in itself, each moment registering deep in his eyes. Rory Cochrane and Ben Foster, as fellow Union soldiers, flesh out the theme of what a long, dubious military campaign can do to a man's soul. And in the middle of it all is Rosamund Pike delivering a performance of heartrending sincerity, as a strong woman in scarcely bearable circumstances. Her humanity acts as a striking counterpoint to the hostility that surrounds her.

The movie has been criticised for presenting its Native American characters as symbols rather than fully fledged characters. In truth there's a whole other film to be made representing the experience of the Cheyenne characters here. For now we have Wes Studi (Dances With Wolves) - portraying stoicism and dignity as Blocker's one-time nemesis Chief Yellow Hawk. As for his family, it's undeniable they could be provided with a greater sense of depth, even with a few extended scenes.

My overriding memory, however, is of a film made frame by frame with western-love. The cinematography is lush, as though to compensate for the overriding sense of threat - although to be fair, the most upsetting acts of violence occur fleetingly or off-camera. Much more time is spent building up the sense of reflection on lives lived too long in a spirit of vengeance. Conversations are gruff but poignant, the camera lingering on stricken faces, while Max Richter's score is a haunting lament. And if the dialogue is lifted almost wholesale from Unforgiven at one point, it's less plagiarism and more homage to Eastwood's story of violence's terrible cost.

This isn't a fun night out at the movies, but it is a gorgeous and gripping one. And it confronts tough truths, before seeking out what grains of redemption it can find.

Gut Reaction: Awe at the beauty and knuckle-chewing at the sheer weight of emotional pain.

Where are the Women?: America's new frontier was particularly unforgiving to the gals, and Rosamund Pike does well to invest her role with this much iron.

Ed's Verdict: 7.5/10. Hostiles reaches for the heights of the cowboy greats and makes it a good part of the way due to stunning visuals, moments of dramatic resonance and heavyweight performances from its leads. Be warned though - it's tough as beef jerky and there simply aren't any jokes.