Hostiles
Academy
Award winner Christian Bale hooks up with Director Scott Cooper again (Out of
the Furnace) to tell a Western tale in the film “Hostiles”.
Set
in 1892 New Mexico and Montana, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army
Captain named Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale), a soldier’s soldier, firmly
committed to doing his duty at all cost, of which largely involved ridding the
American SW region of “savages” who frequently marauded White settlers home and
ranches.
One
day upon the return to his fort with a captive Native American in tow, Captain
Blocker is summed to his Colonel’s Office to discuss his new orders. He quickly
realizes that for once in his life he cannot comply with a direct order as it
involves taking a sworn enemy of his named Chief Yellow Hawk (West Studi) after
7 years in the fort’s prison, back to his home land of Montana…………He’s dying
and wishes to die and be cremated there in the way of his ancestors.
Captain
Blocker firmly resists in taking the Chief back, mostly because he hates him
with every fiber of his being for killing his best friend when they captured him
seven years ago. But even after stern resistance, he reluctantly agrees
to escort the dying Cheyenne war chief and his captive family back to tribal
lands.
Realizing
this is his list official duty before retiring Captain Blocker honorably takes out on his
perilous journey from Fort Berringer, NM to the grasslands of Montana. Still he is filled with raw bitterness and seeks comfort on his journey from his devout belief in God and the words in his bible in the hope it helps him get past some of his hatred towards the Chief as he escorts him to his final resting place.
Little does he know his last mission will take both himself and the Chief down
a path of personal redemption for the pain they both have inflicted on each other.
REVIEW: Running
2:15 minutes, “Hostiles” is eerily similar in construct to Leonardo DiCaprio’s
‘The Revenant”, with its obvious story line of solemnest, melancholy, isolation
and brutality but also in its powerful soul searching undertones on issues of morality,
redemption, mourning and death. And it’s with these combined qualities that
‘Hostiles” as a western feels abundantly fresh, vibrant and in the moment
authentic, all the while filled with deadly intensity and consequences lurking around each frame of
the film itself.
Actors
Bale and Rosemund Pike give genuinely splendid performances, both nuance and
dramatic, of two well intended good people who are now both broken souls by the
impact of death. Broken either by the suddenness of death in their lives or as
a result of a life time killing people because that was “their job”. Director
Cooper makes sure this theme runs throughout the entire film without it ever being
boring or ever cheapen it with jocular moments that would come across as
inappropriate or silly. Cooper keeps the film seriously focused on the burdensome
toll killing people has on a person’s conscious as well as the death of someone
who is dear to them has on the human soul unlike any earthly experience.
I
highly recommend seeing this film in a theater now, not only for its portrayal
of the Western genre world with a persistent powerful story about mourning and
sorrow, but for its splendid telling of that story through the prism of tears,
blood and beauty. Yes beauty as “Hostiles” is also stunningly and exquisitely filmed
by cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi. This film is so gorgeous filmed each
and every frame, that if the tourism and or home sales go up in either New
Mexico and Montana over the next 12 months, they will owe it to this film. I sincerely hope the Academy will remember “Hostiles” next year in 2019 when they hand out
Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography. Trust me this is one of the most
beautiful looking films I have ever seen.
For
so early in the 2018 year “Hostiles” is a very rare and superb film of the likes you
don’t normally see until after Labor Day. So, if you like Westerns as I do, I
implore you if you have the time, please see it on the big screen now as an assemble of both great acting and storytelling in the latest Christian
Bale’s effort, who once again showcases himself as one of the best actor’s
working year after year.
3.75
Stars
