de facto film reviews 3 stars

The Dead Don’t Hurt, the second film directed by Viggo Mortensen, who also produced, wrote, composed the score for and also stars in, is a peculiar western. It is both traditional and counter-traditional. There are elements of many films, including by Hawkes, Ford, Leone, Peckinpah and Siegel, but it also has elements of Eastwood-particularly Unforgiven-and Slow West, the 2015 John MacLean film. This film, told in a fractured chronology, begins near the end, unfolding backwards and forwards, weaving itself like the trails its denizens wander. The story is about a pair of lovers who are separated by one’s decision to go off to war and the repercussions thereafter.

Courtesy Shout! Studios

The film is part romance, yet never becomes syrupy, and there is a stark reality and maturity to both the story and the characters. As Vivienne, the French love interest of Mortensen’s Holger Olsen, Vicky Krieps has a thankless part, which in lesser hands, might have become that of mere victim. Yet, between her talents and those of Mortensen, Vivienne emerges as a dauntless, independent, three dimensional being who suffers terrible events but is never defined by them and who always lives on her own terms. Never once, through all her travails, does she allow herself to become hateful. She is not saintly, but neither is she cruel. She is all too real, and someone you could imagine having really existed.

Mortensen’s score is superb-in a way that is unexpected-and fills much the same space as that done by John Carpenter, in that after hearing the score, you cannot imagine anything else or anyone else having composed the score. It is that fitting, and yet, unlike a Carpenter score, this one is richer, more elegant and more varied than the beats in Carpenter’s films. His directorial touch is likewise taut, controlled and passionate, which brings out the concepts in his smart script. It is that script which towers above the rest of the film, combining elements of not only other genres and films but touching on themes of love, independence, desire, vengeance, cowardice, accountability and friendship. It will not win any awards, but it really should get some consideration. Dismissing it as “just another tale of revenge” is to watch the trailer and not the film.

If the film has any flaws, it is that it is often times too ambitious and too dense, which could lose the attention of certain viewers. The decision to have sections of the film in French, without subtitles, could also disconcert some, though this reviewer personally enjoyed it and would liken it to sequences in Italian/Sicilian, in the Godfather trilogy. There are also a pair of “stock” types as secondary characters, saved by the superb abilities of Garret Dillahunt and Danny Huston. Overall, these are not bugs, but features in what amounts to one of the best westerns in a very long time. Indeed, this is one of the year’s best offerings through the first half and well worth your time.

Courtesy Shout! Studios

The Dead Don’t Hurt is a film that will demand your attention, yes, and which is about character and story, rather than plot and action. This is a film that may stick with you, after you see it, because of what it asks of the audience. Because of how it brings you into these lives and explores them so fully. That the scenery is gorgeous and well shot, and that the film is framed flawlessly by Mortensen, is a bonus. This is a western that will grow in stature as the years go by. There is something here for any flavor of western fan, and absolutely anyone looking for a great drama. When real emotion meets real stakes, while never betraying the trust or intelligence of audience or characters, you have something special.

The Dead Don’t Hurt is now available to rent on all digital platforms.