'Hostiles' Movie Review

Released: 5 January 2018 (UK)

Length: 135 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Scott Cooper

Starring: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, Adam Beach, Q'orianka Kilcher, Stephen Lang, and Scott Wilson

The Wild West setting has been a constant fixture in Hollywood cinema, distinguished for their romanticism and often powerful themes; nowadays, though, the genre has moved into more serious territory. Contrary to the older tales of yore, Hostiles aims for a muddier, more serious dive into America’s western expansion, succeeding with a few caveats.

Based on a story written by Donald E. Stewart, in 1892, Joe Blocker (Christian Bale) is a high-ranking captain in the Union Forces tasked with taking Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family to Montana. While at first, he largely resents the idea of transporting the natives to their sacred land, him and his band learn much along the rough, foreboding roads, including the possibility of some kind of redemption. From here it’s a slow burn narrative as they proceed across the untouched west, stumbling across hazards along the way. The pacing is very much like 2016’s The Revenant in that the film seeks to pull the audience into the locales, making them feel as if they are journeying alongside the characters. For the most part it works, though the first act feels rather routine and predictable in the way it brings characters together. As Hostiles moves onward, however, it does grow more intriguing and the connections between the main characters do build well towards its conclusion. The moral ambiguity is one of Hostiles’ strongest assets; the opening segments show the two opposing sides are far from blameless and by setting out the characters in this way, the brief discussions of morality along the journey feel appropriately poignant; it does a solid job of summing up the drastically different motivations the white man and native Americans had at the time.

The characters of Hostiles maintain strong ties to the film’s time period, though some end up having more development to them than others. Christian Bale gives a very nuanced performance, matching the archetype of the weary captain who mostly hides his emotions from the men he commands. This is contrasted against Rosamund Pike’s often aghast emotions as Rosalie Quaid, who joins the group early on. You get the sense of a shared trauma and guilt that permeates the group, though this doesn’t really carry over into every member of the party. The side characters, aside from the Chief who feels very wise beyond his years are very shallow, which does hurt the chemistry between the group. We learn very little about the men in Joe’s company and the film rarely takes the time to give them some interaction, making them feel rather replaceable as the film goes on. The Old West may have been an unforgiving place, but the film could have done more to get the audience to care about each and every character on the journey.

Hostiles won’t be winning any awards for its characterisation, but it can stake a claim on the finer details; the sweeping landscapes of the American Frontier look breath-taking with an assortment of forests, mountains and riversides presented in countless wide, long reaching shots that really make the world come alive. The camera rarely shifts from its static position, keeping in line with the film’s slower, tentative pacing; the lighting (both natural and from the glow of crude lamps) is superb, and the action scenes that do take place feel appropriately brutal. The soundtrack by Max Richter is often hauntingly beautiful, relying mainly on ambient pieces that swell into more emotional notes at several points. There’s also a terrific level of authenticity; the dialect between the soldiers and native Americans, their respective uniforms, and the sets are all very indicative of the vast landscape that took countless efforts to tame. The silent moments towards the end feel especially powerful, and as the film contrasts nature with manmade settlements, you will buy into the film’s representation of real history.

While it doesn’t quite have the full substance to stand alongside its contemporaries, Hostiles is an admirable effort to capture the quieter, more artistic vision of the period piece. The main performances are strong, the setting is vividly presented, and that’s enough to warrant seeing it, despite a somewhat limited release.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars (Good)