Review: Hostiles

The brutality and plaintive poetry displayed in the opening minutes of Hostiles sets the tone for what follows in writer-director Scott Cooper's characteristically grandiose yet intimate drama. As with many a Western, life in this barely tamed wilderness is not for the faint of heart. Violence is as natural as breathing, happiness hard-won and death sudden and shocking.

The latter certainly holds true for Rosalee Quaid (Rosamund Pike), who loses her husband, her two young daughters and infant son, and home when their New Mexico homestead is attacked by a band of Comanche renegades. Meanwhile, Cavalry Captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) looks on as his men abuse an American Indian family they have captured as prisoners. Both Rosalee and Joseph have hate in their hearts, some would say justifiably so, but it's that hatred that perpetuates the seemingly never-ending cycle of violence from generation to generation until that hatred becomes ingrained in the DNA. As the opening D.H. Lawrence quote notes, "The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted."

Much of Hostiles concerns itself with the thawing of that animosity. Joseph is tasked to escort the dying Cheyenne war chief, Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi), and his family back to their tribal lands where he can be buried. Joseph is reluctant - he and Yellow Hawk have history, he has had friends and comrades who died at the hand of Yellow Hawk - but as his commanding officer (Stephen Lang) reminds him, Joseph faces a court martial and the loss of his pension if he refuses to carry out this presidential order. Left with no choice, Joseph selects a group of men to comprise the escort detail; they include Joseph's oldest friend and confidante Master Sgt. Thomas Metz (Rory Cochrane), West Point graduate Lieutenant Rudy Kidder (Jesse Plemons), Buffalo soldier Corporal Henry Woodson (Jonathan Majors), and youngster Private Philippe DeJardin (Timothée Chalamet).

As the motley crew progress in their travels, they come across the shellshocked Rosalee, still clutching her dead infant in her hands. Somewhat surprisingly, her plight brings out the taciturn Joseph's tender side as he convinces her to join the group, which she does despite her initial terror at the sight of Yellow Hawk and his family. As the film unfolds, unlikely alliances and sympathies form as they warily band together against the many dangers they face both from within and without.

It's an intriguing film, Hostiles, serving as a meditation on violence, and how such violence weighs on a man. There's an awfully thin line between what makes one man a hero and another a killer, one a protector and another a raider. The animal instinct that allows one to survive in war is the very same that makes it difficult to adjust to everyday life. Cooper deftly uses the genre to reflect upon and question both the history of violence and race and its current state today. It's ambitious and not always successful, but it is never less than engaging.

Partly this is due to Japanese cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi's painterly compositions and Max Richter's gorgeous score, both technicians highlighting each character's connection to this harsh but breathtaking land. Mostly the film succeeds on the strength of Bale and Studi's performances. Bale manages to be both economic yet emotionally expansive, whilst Studi is the embodiment of dignity in the face of so much loss.

Hostiles

Directed by: Scott Cooper

Written by: Scott Cooper; based on a story by Donald E. Stewart

Starring: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Adam Beach, Rory Cochrane, Ben Foster, Timothée Chalamet, Q'orianka Kilcher, Stephen Lang, Bill Camp, Peter Mullan, John Benjamin Hickey, Jonathan Majors