Hostiles

Director:
Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace, Black Mass)

Starring:

Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Psycho, The Prestige)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, The World's End, A United Kingdom)

Wes Studi (Dances With Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat)

Plot: 

In 1892, a Native American-hating U.S. cavalry officer (Bale) must lead an escort party protecting a Native American family back to their home in Montana. 
En route, they discover the sole survivor of a Comanche attack (Pike) who joins their party.

Verdict:

When I was in high school, I was assigned a project that I put my heart and soul into; to create a clock.  Not that difficult, right?

For weeks, I obsessed over ideas for how to make my clock stand out against others in my class.  

Maybe the clock face could be slanted? 
Maybe the numbers could be Roman numerals?  
Maybe the arms could go *gasp* counter-clockwise?!

Little did I know, it didn't matter what clock I made, because three years earlier my sister had created a clock that was being used as the epitome of what a student could create.  It was spoken about in hushed tones and sat proudly on the fireplace in my house.  
If they gave awards for Clock Projects, she'd win them all.

My efforts were earnest but ultimately outshone.

So, what is the point of this story, you might think?

Scott Cooper is me.

Hostiles is my clock project.

My sister's clock project is The Revenant.

And damn, Hostiles would be impressive if The Revenant wasn't released three years ago.

Perhaps I'm slightly biased when it comes to Westerns since, like boxing films, I haven't found many that actually entertain me.  They usually plod on a bit of a slow pace, with ultimately the cowboys triumphing over the Native Americans, or the man in the white hat beating his darker suited rival.  Ho-hum.

But The Revenant really shook things up for me and my expectations of the genre back in 2015.  Gritty realism, gory injuries and, finally, an Oscar-winning performance from Leo.  
For the first time, I was made to sit up in my seat.  Not just from the action on-screen and trying to figure out just what Tom Hardy was mumbling, but the beautifully-shot landscapes of rural America made me gasp and stare at the screen slack-jawed at the natural wonder of the American West.

And all that still can be found in Hostiles, but simply to a lesser extent.  Breath-taking vistas are underplayed by foreboding and ominous tones, but the setting never feels like a character in itself.  Shoot outs are still tense, but they lack a sense of fear and dread.

Similarly to Three Billboards... earlier this year, Hostiles focuses on the pointlessness of rage and hatred against our enemy when ultimately, we are all the same underneath.  Characters on opposite sides find themselves fighting alongside each other before the whole thing is over, but in a film like this, you can tell that is where the film is heading.

Again, I'm not saying Hostiles is without heartfelt emotion, as Rosamund Pike acts the hell out of her role.  Seeing true tragedy befall her early on in the film leaves Pike a shell of her former self and she seems genuinely struck with PTSD for a large portion of this film (I've been so impressed with Pike's work since Gone Girl and I really hope she is recognised for her talents in the coming years).  

The same goes for Christian Bale's stoic performance as the 'Indian'-hating cavalry officer.  He gives a subtle and believable turn as Joseph Blocker, learning ways of the Native American people as he continues to spend time with them over their journey across their 'shared' home, resulting in a logical conclusion that succeeds where many 'Gone Native' films have failed in the past.  Plus his moustache is just glorious, I mean, look at that pushbroom!

Hostiles is not a bad film at all; it's an entertaining and thought-provoking amount of minutes.  However the same can be said about my clock project; that work-of-art told people the time whenever they wanted.  But damn, it was nothing on my sister's.

Rating
6/10

Until next time, thanks for reading!

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