Hostiles

(spoiler free)

A couple of years ago the cinema saw a real revival of the western genre (‘The Revenant’, ‘Bone Tomahawk’ etc) however the last twelve months have been somewhat of a tumbleweed affair with fewer offerings – enter Scott Cooper’s, ‘Hostiles’. Telling the story of an Army Captain who’s forced to transport a newly freed from captivity Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal lands, ‘Hostiles’ reunites director Cooper with previous collaborator Christian Bale. This marks the actors first return to the western genre since James Mangold’s remake of ‘3:10 to Yuma’ back in 2007.

Westerns give us all an insight into a simpler way of life and appropriately so the narrative for ‘Hostiles’ is also relatively straightforward. However, what gives it more weight is the character motives & attitudes of which it explores. At first it appears that the story is going to be little more than Cowboys versus Indians, and at face value it might seem like that. Yet the writing focuses on understanding the attitudes of both sides and highlighting the issues with each groups actions and as a result potentially shifting their stubborn views. This all happens over a long running time, well over the two hour mark, subsequently the pace can be slow at times. No doubt in an attempt to remedy this Cooper, who also adapted Donald E. Stewart’s original story for the screen, includes plenty of action sequences. These moments are very well executed and give the picture much needed bursts of energy when it’s beginning to lag. The camerawork employed in these scenes is to be appreciated, often capturing the action in a very cinematic way adding gravitas. However, it has to be said that when the action isn’t occurring the film can struggle to keep viewers attention with it’s sparse dialogue, even if the accompanying visuals are frequently impressive.

Similarly impressive is the amount of talent assembled for the cast. Even for minor roles the film features several actors of the moment such as Timothée Chalamet & Jesse Plemons. Though it’s no surprise that Christian Bale dominates the screen in the leading role. He gives an understated yet powerful performance as Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker, demonstrated early on in one of the best scenes of the film in which he is given the assignment of delivering the war chief and his family to freedom. None of the other characters, other than Rosamund Pike’s Rosalie, really get fleshed out. Instead the script offers small insights into each of their lives which does allow for some variety however some will see this as underdevelopment. It’s clear that there was room in the screenplay to get to know these characters more or even to understand the main characters in a much deeper way. Instead the spotlight fleets between the minor characters in an unsatisfying way that potentially is one the problems with the pacing. 

Nonetheless, ‘Hostiles’ is a more than competent western. It features an accomplished leading performance from Christian Bale and has plenty of other famous faces to keep films fans entertained. The more mainstream audiences will appreciate the energetic action sequences whereas the more devoted western fans should enjoy the exploration of the character attitudes. As a result it should be satisfactory for the majority of viewers however the elongated running time may well halt it from becoming anything more to either groups.

Written by Hamish Calvert

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Rating – 7/10

Question: What is your favourite Scott Cooper film?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)

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