Hostiles

Was not even quite sure I wanted to see this movie, it's received zero publicity, and ya know... a Western. The word "somber" kept reverberating in my mind throughout the start, it cast a pall upon every scene and situation- no matter how scenic or beautiful. I guess another word would be "morbid," but that casts too negative a tone on a movie that does make one think- despite the omnipresent threat of death. In fact, violence and death are not just the end results of the brutal existence portrayed- they are ultimately the factors of change and insight.

Both sides, White and Indian hate each other intensely, for reasons both good and bad- which is certainly not to say that both sides are equally culpable. It's the way things are, and its how they lead and live their lives. But when we join the main protagonists in this movie, as fervent as they are in their beliefs, they are also painfully cognizant of the inherent insanity it imposes on them all. But sanity and redemption is not something they believe within their grasp.

Of course, things are bound to change on a monumental scale (for those that survive) when all these more than world weary characters are thrown together in the Captain's last assignment before retirement. Some of these insights occur perhaps a tad too quickly or unconvincingly, but the story is one whose earnestness allows it, and the recurrent brutality of all sides concerned allows anything even remotely sentimental a certain welcome.

Although never releasing us from its somber grip, Hostiles does manage to end full circle. Christian Bale as the army Captain and Wes Studi as Chief Yellow Hawk dutifully pursue and play out their destinies, respectively- brutal as they are, they do leave some room for hope...