Directed by:
Scott CooperCinematography:
Masanobu TakayanagiComposer:
Max RichterCast:
Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, Stephen Lang, Jesse Plemons, Adam Beach, Paul Anderson, Scott Shepherd, Bill Camp, Rory Cochrane (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Written and directed by Scott Cooper, Hostiles takes place in 1892 and tells the story of an Army Captain (Christian Bale) who reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. On the journey, they meet a widow (Rosamund Pike) whose family was murdered on the plains and offer their help. As the former rivals make their way from an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico to the grasslands of Montana, their relationship moves from antagonism to compassion, demonstrating humans’ capacity for change. (Entertainment in Video)
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Reviews (11)
The first cinema experience of the year. Scott Cooper serves up a gritty adventure western with the Apache! Starring a solid Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike and Ben Foster. The film has a slower pace, but a very tense atmosphere, beautiful scenery, lots of disgusting maniacal Apaches who have no problem murdering an entire family and their children (the opening scene is very intense) and a great soundtrack. There are only four action scenes, but they are authentically filmed, with excellent sound design and very tense to the point of being breathless. This dead genre has been slowly reviving and gaining momentum for the last two years and that's only a good thing. 75%
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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.
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Apocalypse Now of the American West. A completely different western, and gorgeous. A structure based on Coppola's legend that takes you through a thematic landscape in search of epiphany and awareness, with great performances, a tender yet unsettling minimalist soundtrack and unprecedented spiritual depth, and an ending that will make you want to cry together with the protagonists. The filmmaking is deliberately austere, but Cooper scores again with a sensitive narrative that, while slow, can hardly be faulted in terms of the key emphasis on the interactions between the characters and the overall critical portrayal of America's ugly phase at the time. Perhaps there could have been fewer of those puzzling scenes by the fire and the development of the relationship between the captain and the chief is too fast, but this has no effect on the overall emotional and mental catharsis. How the hell didn't this have any Oscar nominations?!!
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Christian Bale is a sure bet for me, which was confirmed to me yet again. I had trouble sympathizing with the rancher family from the opening scene. If a bunch of people settled on my land and declared it their property, I wouldn't be open to discussion either, but Bale's racist Captain Blocker was excellent. The whole trip to Montana would have been mind-numbingly boring, but fortunately for the viewer and, unfortunately for those involved, it was disrupted by occasional violent events. The atmosphere was properly dismal, and the guardians of world democracy once again showed themselves in their true light, so I was almost completely satisfied. The only thing that spoiled my overall impression a little was the ending.
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A purebred, rough western with an engaging and well-written plot, fantastic directing and brilliant actors - rumors about Christian Bale's best performance of his life did not lie, although it is debatable whether it is in fact his best performance (but it is definitely in the top 3 and it is amazing to see how great Bale acts using his eyes, eyebrows, the wrinkles on his forehead and mustache). However, there is no doubt about this being the best performance of Rosamund Pike’s career. Her tragic character combines female fragility with strength and determination, while Bale's protagonist is no less of a tragic warrior, who gradually runs out of comrades-in-arms in the ruthless environment. This is a film brimming with strong and serious themes, from controversy about violence, human nature, and morality and the burden of conscience, to the differences between murder ordered by someone, and murder in general. A majestic atmosphere, emotions, brilliantly written characters and perfect work with motifs. The last four minutes may be too sweet, but they are actually logical. The Indians may not be what they seem. Amazing film.
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