Hostiles: Movie Review (No Spoilers)

By Michael Momper

The modern Western is oftentimes a movie packed with clichés and tired genre tropes, and most people can probably rattle them off even if they are not fans of the genre: long journeys on horseback or in covered wagons, revolvers being fired into the air, a cast of buff alpha males (luckily we have been spared from Westerns featuring scrawny beta males so far), and at least one damsel in distress. The newest well-reviewed Western to hit theaters, writer and director Scott Cooper’s Hostiles, actually contains every one of these hackneyed plot devices… and yet somehow manages to become one of the best films I have seen in this genre in a long time.

Scott Cooper has consistently been able to nab some excellent actors for his projects, including Jeff Bridges, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch. In Hostiles, Christian Bale returns for his second Cooper feature, alongside fellow talent in Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, and Rory Chocrane. The movie is a violent and oftentimes bleak affair, featuring powerhouse acting and stunning visual grandeur. Nothing captures your interest quite like Christian Bale’s performance, however; he manages to exude every nuance involved in portraying Captain Blocker, man tortured by not only his own violent past, but also the violent actions of the Indian chiefs who he is forced to escort from New Mexico to Montana for their elder’s eventual burial. Bale is both ferocious and subdued, reflective and animalistic, and what I think is one of his best performances in recent memory. With so much bloodshed and death occurring in front of our eyes, it is easy for the viewer to also feel an ominous feeling that no one is innocent and all involved are poisoned by the basest tendencies of man in the wild landscape of kill or be killed.

The first scene featuring Rosamund Pike is absolutely heartbreaking, and seems to set the movie up to be a dire and blood-soaked affair. As she survives absolutely tragic occurrences, the glimmer of hope seems like the distant glow of the farthest constellation. I constantly asked myself if I could possibly put up with the life she is forced to live... as with many good movies, you are forced to ask yourself many challenging questions. How could I forgive those who have committed unspeakable violence upon my people? Could I stand to live in places where nature runs wild and comfort is something that can almost never be afforded? It is amazing how good period dramas can still make one ponder if they would survive in similar circumstances; after all, the world is ancient, and wasn't always this way.

Pike does incredible work with these questions, however, and encapsulates what is one of the most powerful and inspiring female roles in years. It is the perfect complement to Bale's outstanding work, as she portrays an ideal of hope to him that should be even harder for her to digest, though they have both seen such a great deal of tragedy. The fact that optimism and faith can be pulled from such gruesome circumstances throughout the film is truly a testament to the time period, and I think the reviewers who have seen nothing but bleak and cynical atmosphere from this movie have completely missed the point. I sort of feel sorry for them.

In contrast to the brutal violence is the gorgeous scenery-lush landscapes and pastel coloring abound, the only constant in a world swirling with bloodshed. No matter what happens down below, the heavens remain lighted, and somehow life moves on.