If cinema is to be believed as a storyteller, in the mid- to late-19th century you stepped into the vast expanse that is the western part of the United States and almost immediately you were in grave danger. Whether it was from bands of horrendous marauders, business deals gone bad, or police chasing too many slippery bank robbers, finding safe passage from point A to point B proved a tricky procedure, and I won’t even begin to mention a rattlesnake or two.
Historical records can easily lend weight to many of these works of fiction, the latter best seen on screen in the cinematic centerpieces “Lonesome Dove” and “Unforgiven,” and even directly addressing the dangers of the era in “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” Obviously, the same can be said of any genre with roots in reality, but for the sake of this review, focusing on the latest Western installment, “The Thicket,” we’ll keep our attention there.
Director: Elliott Lester
Writers: Chris Kelley, Joe R. Lansdale
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Juliette Lewis, Levon Hawke
If the narrator that is cinema is to be believed, the mid-to-late 19th century was a time when a step into the vast expanse that is the western part of the United States would almost immediately put one in grave danger. Whether through roving bands of hideous marauders, business dealings gone haywire, or police rampaging in pursuit of many an elusive bank robber, finding safe passage from point A to point B proved a tricky procedure, and I won’t even begin to mention a rattlesnake or two. Historical records can easily lend weight to many of these works of fiction, the latter best seen on screen in the cinematic centerpieces “Lonesome Dove” and “Unforgiven,” even directly addressing the dangers of the era in “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” Obviously, the same can be said of any genre with roots in reality, but for the sake of this review, focusing on the latest Western installment, “The Thicket,” we’ll keep our attention there.
The list of Western classics — incendiary films that stand alongside some of history’s greatest works of art — is as long as it is diverse; it’s easy to find as many defining entries as mediocre ones. Unfortunately, despite the level of talent involved, “The Thicket” is another addition to a club filled with films like “The Quick and the Dead,” last year’s “Surrounded,” and the chilling “Wild Wild West,” with this film seemingly focused on portraying the rawness and atmosphere of a specific moment in American history while burying an overused story filled with characters capable only of producing an unintentional laugh or two rather than generating genuine interest in what exactly is taking up the film’s running time.
The opening sets the tone, as the best films should; here, we meet Bill (Juliette Lewis), short for Wilhelmina and adopting the nickname Cutthroat, as her gang encounters another in whatever nondescript section of the 19th-century countryside. After a brutal murder, Bill now has Lula (Esmé Creed-Miles), a member of the group, in his possession, and sends his brother Luke (Levon Hawke) to enlist the services of bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) to try to track her down.
What follows could best be described as scene after scene of fights between Jones and Luke, occasional scenes of Bill arguing with just about everyone he meets, all punctuated by periodic violence before culminating in the inevitable shootout, which serves to check the box on the unwritten list of Western clichés. We’ve seen it before. We’ll see it again.
“The Magnificent Seven,” perhaps? Possibly one of the most apt comparisons in recent memory, another take on the “Recruitment of ragtag gunslingers by someone seeking revenge” trope, “The Thicket” seems less concerned with trying to open up any glimmer of something new and more with simply getting it into the credits.
A film that Dinklage has been preparing for a long time, and it becomes apparent with every passing minute that this industry veteran with decades of experience has performed much better in other films, as his portrayal of Jones shows Dinklage seemingly doing what he can behind a beard and a facial expression that still manages to say a lot no matter the film. There's likely a limit to what Dinklage can bring to Jones, as the film is based on Joe R. Lansdale's 2013 novel of the same name, but it seems clear that there's more to come regardless.
Comments
Post a Comment