Director: Tommy Lee Jones.
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter, David Dencik, John Lithgow, Tim Blake Nelson, James Spader, Meryl Streep, Jesse Plemons, William Fichtner.
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 122 minutes.
Synopsis: Accompanied by the gruff George Briggs (Jones), Mary Bee Cuddy (Swank) agrees to transport three women who have lost their minds in the wild west, back to Iowa.
Tommy Lee Jones returns to the director’s saddle after his amazing THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADAS ESTRADA way back in 2005. Once again he’s taking us on a journey through the brutal west, and once again he is giving it a unique spin. Based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, THE HOMESMAN is a film devoid of traditional heroes or glorified outlaws, and instead focuses on very real people in a very inhospitable time and place.
Hilary Swank is once again on top of her game in the role of Mary Cuddy, a woman who is both strong and fragile in equal measure. She may be desperate to find herself a husband, but she’s also willing to traverse the harsh landscapes in order to take 3 married women, all of whom have lost their minds, to Iowa, where they will be looked after. It’s a tough role to pull off as we must see her as delicate and shrewd, and Swank makes sure to lace layers of confusion and uncertainty throughout her portrayal, thus always keeping us on the edge of our seats in regards to her own mental state. Will she triumph against the cruel reality, or will she join those she has promised to transport.
Jones is also breathtaking in his role, as a gruff outlaw who’s been worn down over the years. Like Swank’s Mary Cuddy, Jones’ Georges Briggs is a double sided coin. At times he seems honourable and pure, while he can also be rough around the edges, untrustworthy, and seemingly belligerent at having to help Cuddy. These two layered performances lead the film, but the character arcs do not head in predictable directions. The painfully blunt script makes a clear point of expressing the fact that character development is not a simple case of a 120 minute screenplay, and that some things can’t necessarily be changed.
Elsewhere we are lucky to experience the incredible visuals captured by Rodrigo Prieto, who makes the golds, oranges, and yellows, as devastating as they are beautiful. You can feel every particle of dust in the wind, and you experience the warm sunlight on your skin. The music also hits a nerve throughout the length of this heart wrenching experience. Jones is no stranger to the west, and rather than merely glorify or chastise it, he finds both the beauty and the devastation all around him. There are instances where you feel you want to be a part of this world, and then quickly contemplate how anybody survived out there.
THE HOMESMAN isn’t a full on gunslinging experience for entertainment purposes, but is instead a subtle and contemplative piece. An exquisite tale told with rich visuals and incredible heart. Jones gives an astonishing performance and cements himself as a truly magnificent auteur. A draining but essential experience.
[usr=5]THE HOMESMAN is out on 21st November.
