Film Review: "Hostiles" (2017).

"We are all... Hostiles." In this Western film written and directed by Scott Cooper, and based on a story by Donald E. Stewart. In 1892, legendary Army Capt. Joseph Blocker reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal land. Embarking on a harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, N.M., to the grasslands of Montana, they soon encounter a young widow whose family was killed on the plains. The travelers must now band together to survive a punishing landscape that's crawling with hostile Comanches and vicious outliers.

In February 2016, it was announced that Scott Cooper would be directing a script from Stewart, with Christian Bale to star in the leading role. The project came to fruition after Stewart's death in 1999, when his widow found his script whilst moving houses. Surprisingly, Stewart had never submitted the script to any studio. This came as a surprise to his widow when she came across it. After seeing Crazy Heart (2009) and Out of the Furnace (2013), she felt that Scott Cooper was the right man to shepherd it towards the screen. In March, Rosamund Pike was cast, and a production start date of July was announced. By late July, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, Stephen Lang, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, Adam Beach, Q'orianka Kilcher, Timothée Chalamet and Scott Wilson rounded out the cast. Cooper expressly wrote the characters for each member of the cast. Around the same time, with a budget of $40 million, filming began in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The film was shot mostly outdoors, and was shot in chronological order. As the movie was shot on-location during monsoon season, the cast and crew were exposed to the elements. Indeed, filming had to be often shut down for a time because of lightning storms. Kilcher said she suffered from heat stroke during filming.

The film stars Bale, Pike, Studi, Foster, Lang, Plemons, Cochrane, Beach, Kilcher, Chalamet and Wilson. The cast all gave compelling performances that was both elegant and brutal. The cast elevated this down-and-dirty western above its gritty and brutal trappings. Cooper made sure that he took every opportunity to showcase his incredible cast. Bale's performance is as strong, and as energized, as anything he's done on screen for years.

Hostiles not only makes the most of its incredible cast, the film is so compelling that it is hard to turn away. The film is elegantly understated western drama that spins a gripping yarn out of its genre – and leaves audiences with some of the most compelling performances in years. This film elevates the genre, thanks to fiery performances from the cast as well as sharp direction from Cooper. The acting is incredible -- the cast boasts an Oscar winner and two nominees; and visually, the film is bleak and stirring. One could see the film as Cooper's attempt to resurrect a now unfashionable genre. In the end, it's a good movie, definitely worth the price of admission.

 Simon says Hostiles receives:

Also, see my review for Black Mass.