Oscar-winner Tom Hanks has been acting in film for nearly 40 years. However, he's never done a Western before to my knowledge. He became a star and rose to prominence as the Western genre was on the decline. It's only every now and then that a Western will be produced, especially by a major Hollywood studio. Directed and co-written by Paul Greengrass (
Captain Phillips and
United 93), as well as co-written by Luke Davies (
Lion and
Beautiful Boy), this is really one of only two Western films to come out in 2020. The other one was
First Cow, which isn't about the muscularity or the machismo that's on display here.
First Cow isn't necessarily about gunslingers or the brutality of the frontier. It does depict the struggle to survive or succeed in that time period, but the brutality and violence weren't a focus. Here, that brutality and violence are a focus with Greengrass.
Hanks (Forrest Gump and Philadelphia) stars as Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a captain who fought in the Civil War. He fought with the Texas infantry. He was seemingly a Confederate soldier. Yet, he seems not to share the values of the other Texans around him. A lot of them seem to be racist and xenophobic. It's not clear why Captain Kidd doesn't share those values. He seems inured at the culture and quietly disapproving. Yet, he did serve. Later, he seems to feel guilty about what happened during the war and his part in it. Maybe he's driven by that guilt.
It's 1870, five years after the war, and Captain Kidd works as a news reader. Some people don't have the time or the access. Some might not even be totally literate. Captain Kidd then charges people a dime to gather together and he reads them stories from various newspapers. For serious news stories, he's like the Walter Cronkite of that time. He's also like a town crier. For more silly stories, he's like a stand-up comedian. He's half news-man and half entertainer. He's on tour throughout Texas. It's not clear if he's been to other states, but right now he's in Texas.
Helena Zengel co-stars as Johanna, a 10-year-old girl who was orphaned at a young age and then raised by Native Americans. She was orphaned again when those Native Americans were killed. Captain Kidd finds her in the wreckage of a horse-drawn carriage. She doesn't speak English. She only speaks the language of the Kiowa. She seems like an unruly and wild child, but she's simply a girl dealing with a lot of trauma and loss.
The majority of the film is a road trip of Captain Kidd and Johanna across Texas. Both are dealing with loss. Both don't have any families as it were, so it's interesting to see them bond. Hanks does a great job opposite this little girl as he does with any actor. Watching him in the quiet moments with her are great, just as the action scenes with him are great. Captain Kidd has to protect the girl and himself from various dangers. It makes for a thrilling adventure.
Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and some language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 58 mins.
In theaters and coming soon to VOD.
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