Directed by:
Viggo MortensenScreenplay:
Viggo MortensenCinematography:
Marcel ZyskindComposer:
Viggo MortensenCast:
Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, Garret Dillahunt, Danny Huston, W. Earl Brown, Michael Weaver, Solly McLeod, Nadia Litz, Alex Breaux, Shane Graham, Colin Morgan (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a story of star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s.
Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationships with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meting wtih Olsen in San Fransicso, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life together. The outbreak of the civil war separates them when Olsen makes a fateful decision to fight for the Union. This leaves Vivienne to fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston) and his unscrupulous business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffires (Garret Dillahunt). Alfred's violent, wayward son Weston (Solly McLeod) aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances. When Olsen returns from the war, he and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become. Both a tragic love story and nuanced depiction of the conflict between revenge and forgiveness.
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men.
(Transmission Films)
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Reviews (4)
Viggo Mortensen delivers his directorial, writing, producing, acting and ultimately composing feat set in California in the second half of the 19th century. The arguably all-around excellent Vicky Krieps shines here as Vivienne, a girl who, though solidly off the rails, feels firsthand during the course of the story how hard it was to be a woman in the Wild West. Mortensen shows himself to be a decent craftsman behind the camera, but his storytelling style is a bit ham-fisted (the jumps back and forth in time feel a bit out of place) and his darkness is, with all due respect, dull. In any case, you'll be very pleased with the nicely shot and first-rate California locations and the chemistry that works very well between the film's two leads. [KVIFF 2024]
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The Dead Don’t Hurt is predictable and kitschy to the point of being naïve, and the logic behind the main character’s encounter with the villain before the final settling of accounts is ridiculous, to put it mildly. And if we don’t know how to bring it to a conclusion, we show the ocean. Which works for adding depth, but it is a cheap trick that can be applied to any drama. Vicky Krieps’s acting is the only above-average component of the film. Viggo Mortensen is a likable guy and an admirable acting chameleon, and it's fine that he’s taking a stab at his own creative works, but… [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]
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(KVIFF 2024) When I first looked at the synopsis, the plot of The Dead Don’t Hurt reminded me a lot of the twenty years older Cold Mountain, which also dealt with the separation of two partners due to the man's enlistment in the army and the related plight of a lonely woman in 19th century America. Viggo Mortensen, who directed, wrote, starred and scored the film, tells the story of Vivienne and Holger, for whom life has provided beautiful but also bitter moments, and you can feel that Mortensen has put a lot of effort into the film. From an audiovisual point of view, it is a well done piece with beautiful locations and spare music, but in terms of narrative I was bothered by the sometimes rather random jumps between the three time planes; I was also surprised by the creative decision to give away one of the important plot twists right at the beginning. Better three stars!
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This western melodrama about a strong female protagonist who suffers the cruel fate that women in the American West often experienced in the second half of the 19th century is pervaded with criticism of the wealthy elite, who are not subject to punishment and can buy everything and everyone and bend justice to their own benefit. Krieps and Mortensen are good in the lead roles and occasionally make do only with precise, wordless expressions that say everything, and Solly McLeod capably supports them in his role as the main antagonist, a dangerous headcase. The picturesque landscapes and poignant music (also by Mortensen) are especially memorable. However, the plot is unpleasantly disjointed due to the narrative being divided into three time levels, between which it constantly and somewhat laboriously jumps back and forth. Furthermore, the storyline focused on the heroine’s childhood does not enrich the story much and the non-linear arrangement of individual events unfortunately makes it impossible for the cathartic and emotional moments to resonate properly.
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