Hostiles

Hostiles is a harsh Western that relates the quest for mutual respect between two fighters on a politically oriented path (akin to Saving Private Ryan). Surprisingly, there are many parallels with another modern Western, 3:10 to Yuma, be it for the story structure, the similar atmosphere, or the starring of Christian Bale and Ben Foster. Otherwise, Hostiles follows its own slow-paced route and skilfully draws the audience in. Scott Cooper’s direction is flawless. The scene where Metz (Rory Cochrane) kneels in front of the chief’s tent would be incredibly clichéd if presented differently, but, thanks to the brilliant acting performance and the way Cooper directed, is, to my eyes, the highlight of the film. [KVIFF 2018] (07/08/2018)

The premise gave me a feeling that this would be one of the best Hollywood experiences. And it really was. It has exactly everything is should and nothing more, nothing less. Christian Bale and Wes Studi greatly portray the best warriors of their respective sides and as destiny has planned, at the end of their lives they meet again just so one of them can carry the other home. And it is done on the President’s order. Brutal bloody scenes, unbelievably strong emotions, characters you pity, the darkness in their minds you can’t understand and the scenes you won’t forget. Undoubtedly a great experience and the last scene is probably the most beautiful and poetic movie ending I have seen in years. (10/07/2020)

Given how thoroughly this film analyzes the feelings of all of its characters, it quite underestimated the importance of the portrayal of Bale’s character and the chief becoming friends, which is a key element in the story exposition. That may be due to the final cut, which was supposed to make the film more accessible to a broader audience by shortening its runtime. I would stretch the first third into the first half and extend the runtime to 150 minutes. Hostiles is so captivating, emotional, and psychologically and intellectually engaging that it could have become the (anti-)western of the decade, depicting the fucked-up period of American history in question most aptly among all of its genre cousins. Each minute is an intense testament of loss, torment and sadness. (08/08/2018)

Scott Cooper has gone beyond me so far, but this was exactly what one imagines quality filmmaking to be. Already the uncompromisingly raw and brutal opening, into which they throw us without warning, managed to set the whole direction of the film and indicated quite clearly that nobody was going to pull any punches. Violence is expressed explicitly and with no regard for children or women, but at the same time casually and skillfully enough not to make weaker viewers uncomfortable, as well as the excellent camera work and exposures of landscapes, the western touch that is felt from the first minutes, and the excellent musical score. The chemistry between Christian Bale and Wes Studi as the Indian chief is excellent, and the gradual development of their characters is straight out of a written drama. The action scenes are realistic, the Indians are brutal to the point of blood and whenever they appear on the scene, you know it's bad. Few films can be so engrossing every second and for someone who doesn’t like westerns, this one sucked me in brilliantly. Hostiles is simply a well-delivered drama portraying the strained relationship between two parties where you never know who will live to see tomorrow, and a quality western that is very confident in its action and combines both of the aforementioned aspects together in the finale – the final carnage and the palpable catharsis of the main characters. I have absolutely no reservations, this is a gem and I would watch it again in a heartbeat. (10/11/2021)

Fortunately, Scott Cooper understood that Black Mass was a failed test of a new course for his directing career and that the ideal thing to do was to return to what he does best. Hostiles copies the signature of Out of the Furnace, it’s slow, full of violence and raw emotions. Instead of a purely masculine take, this time he incorporates a strong feminine element as well, and he has succeeded to perfection. It dilutes the macho western, giving it a dramatic dimension and a strong emotional arc, for it is the scenes with Rosamund Pike that are often chilling, sometimes at least very compelling and understandable to the viewer. Christian Bale plays a similar role to his present-day brother, a few years older, he doesn’t say much, but does a lot. On the one hand, this is a gritty, absolutely classically conveyed story (the clash of whites and native savages) of a typical western, and at the same time they subliminally play an interesting game of hatred and reconciliation, where the characters are neither clearly good nor clearly bad and it is often just a matter of point of view and understanding. The great cinematography and the unique scenery of Wyoming and Montana add to the wistful atmosphere, supported by Max Richter's soaring violin. A Western without unnecessary experiments, solid in the basics, a successful return to the roots. (04/15/2018)