Starring: Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Lesley Manville, Will Britain, Kayli Carter, and Ryan Bruce
Distributor: Universal Pictures International
Runtime: 114 mins. Reviewed in Dec 2020
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This American drama is a Western-noir thriller, based on a novel of the same name written by Larry Watson in 2013. It is the story of a retired sheriff and his wife in the early 1960s, who lose their son tragically in an accident, and are determined to protect their grandchild. The title of the film reflects the need to resolve grief.
In Montana, USA, George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) lives quietly in retirement with his loving, strong-minded wife, Margaret (Diane Lane). Their son, James (Ryan Bruce), and his wife Lorna (Kayli Carter), also live with them, together with their new-born child, Jimmy.
The entire family is thrown into deep grief by James’s tragic death when he is thrown fatally off his horse. His death is made clear when a riderless horse returns to the family ranch. Three years later, Lorna is married a second time, to Donnie Weboy (Will Britain) – a violent man, who chooses not to ask any of his family to the wedding, and it is an unhappy match. Shortly after the wedding, Margaret becomes alarmed at Donnie’s behaviour, when, on a chance encounter in the town’s street, she sees Donnie physically abusing her grandson and her daughter-in-law. The following day, Margaret learns that Lorna, Jimmie and Donnie have left town.
Donnie, with Lorna and Jimmy, have gone to Donnie’s remote family compound in North Dakota, and fearing for their grandson’s safety, George and Margaret decide to follow. Eventually, George and Margaret find their way to his home in the desolate mountain regions of North Dakota. Donnie belongs to the Weboy clan, a crime family run by a powerful matriarch, Donnie’s mother, Blanche (Lesley Manville), who is mentally disturbed, and who has ordered Donnie to come back to her. Conflict is established and spirals out of control when George and Margaret show up, and they instantly realise that something is terribly wrong.
The film changes from one of grief and loss, to one where violence is the path the film pursues for George and Margaret to save Jimmie and Lorna. The love of George and Margaret for each other doesn’t prepare the viewer for what they are pushed to do. Blanche Weboy and Margaret become enemies after Blanche and her clan brutally try to force Margaret and George to leave.
Blanche is the steely, manipulative matriarch of a mob family that Lorna and Jimmy are expected to be part of, and Margaret and George both know their grandson and daughter-in-law are at great risk.The Weboy family react badly to any threat. They are threatened by Margaret and George, and lash out violently. Blanche won’t let Jimmie go, and Margaret won’t let Blanche have her way. The film moves to a gory, climactical scene, that establishes a violent end to the conflict.
The acting performances in the film are impressive and emotive. Diane acts Margaret with wilful resolve and determination, while George quietly lets his wife have her way before finally taking steps to physically protect her. Lesley Manville, as Blanche Weboy, pulls the stops out in a performance that dramatically lies at the edge of caricature. Threading through the film are scenes of violence that range from domestic abuse to blood-spilling assault. The corrupt Weboy family don’t hesitate to use violence to get what they want, and the film speedily escalates into a full-blown suspense thriller, as Blanche fights to hold onto her son and his child.
Diane Lane and Kevin Costner were last together as the adoptive parents of Superman in “Man of Steel” (2013). In that film, they suffered loss of their superhero son, and this film focuses on vengeance which is an ill-judged and morally inappropriate path to resolution of loss. This is a violent Western that sustains strong tension, and it focuses on two resolute women, at odds about how to care. Thomas Bezucha, the director, ensures that his action drama delivers surprise punches, but his film is essentially a disturbing character study of two mothers and one husband, who, for different reasons, are determined to hold onto what they think they are losing.
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