HOSTILES (15)

Posted by ruthmedia on December 28, 2017 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

HOSTILES (15)

Run time: 127 Mins

Director: Scott Cooper

Cast: Christian Bale, Wes Studi, Rosamund Pike, Adam Beach, Ben Foster,Jesse Plemons, Paul Anderson, Peter Mullan, Rosamund Pike, Scott Wilson, Stephen Lang, Timothee Chalamet,

Synopsis: 1892, New Mexico – legendary Army captain Joseph J. Blocker undertakes one dangerous final mission before retirement: escort Yellow Hawk – a dying Cheyenne war chief – and his family back to sacred tribal lands.

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko7WbWiOL7Y

Director and writer Scott Cooper [Crazy Heart (2009), Out of the Furnace (2013) and Black Mass (2015)] brings us stunning visuals and a solid central performance from Christian Bale in this story adapted from the late Donald E. Stewart.

This brutal, stunning and dark tale, set in frontier America, opens with a shocking scene when Rosamund Pike’s character has her entire family wiped out.

Deep and long simmering hatred is stirred up when Captain Blocker (Bale), an experienced but bitter western war veteran is ordered to lead the transfer of a small Cheyenne family, with chief Yellow Hawk, from New Mexico to their reservation in Montana. After twenty years of violent struggle, this gesture of peace is as unthinkable to Blocker as it is harrowing. Together the pair battle against a punishing landscape and the brutality of men alike, coming to the rescue of a young widow (Rosamund Pike) amidst the carnage of her murdered family. Two great western warriors, once rivals across the battlefield, must learn to trust each other and find peace in an unforgiving land. A heroic odyssey of survival, Hostiles becomes a story not about the miles travelled nor the battles fought, but the journey towards respect, reconciliation and forgiveness.

Bale [The Promise (2016), The Big Short (2015), The Fighter (2010)] is – as always – a riveting presence, ably backed by an excellent ensemble including Pike [A United Kingdom (2016), Gone Girl (2014)], Wes Studi, Bill Camp, Scott Wilson, Paul Anderson, Ben Foster, Peter Mullan and an all too brief appearance from Timothée Chalamet [Call Me by Your Name (2017)].

An interesting and memorable new take on the western, with an excellent score from Max Richter [Shutter Island  (2010)] and  beautiful poetic landscape cinematography from Masanobu Takayanagi.

Images courtesy of ENTERTAINMENT FILM DISTRIBUTORS