Director/Star/Screenwriter Tommy Lee Jones takes a major Chance with this Unusual Western Tale about Desperation and Insanity on the Harsh Nebraskan Plains in Americas Formative Years. It seems, by the Movie's Bomb at the Box Office it was a Chance Not Worth Taking.
Too Bad. It is one of those Gritty, Artistic, Brutally Honest Renditions of a Reality that is Conveniently Forgotten most of the time in the Western Genre, and perhaps for Good Reason. It is Relentlessly Depressing Watching these Fortuitous Folks Fighting the Forces of Nature and Humanity's Horrific Unbridled Behavior.
Hilary Swank is Superb as the Strongest (Or is She?) Person in this Depressing Display of Oddball Odious Types. Jones and the rest of the Cast also do Strong Work and the Framing is Fantastic. The Story of Transporting Three Insane Women Across the vast Vistas of a Cold and Unforgiving Landscape is Rough Going, for the Participants and the Audience.
If Your Constitution will Allow such Nastiness to Invade the Sensibilities of Entertainment, there can be Found something of Value in this Decidedly Downbeat Adventure. But Deep Empathetic Viewers may want to Pass, although those with the Guts to Carry On can find a goodly Amount of Artistry in this Offbeat and very Unconventional Western.
Too Bad. It is one of those Gritty, Artistic, Brutally Honest Renditions of a Reality that is Conveniently Forgotten most of the time in the Western Genre, and perhaps for Good Reason. It is Relentlessly Depressing Watching these Fortuitous Folks Fighting the Forces of Nature and Humanity's Horrific Unbridled Behavior.
Hilary Swank is Superb as the Strongest (Or is She?) Person in this Depressing Display of Oddball Odious Types. Jones and the rest of the Cast also do Strong Work and the Framing is Fantastic. The Story of Transporting Three Insane Women Across the vast Vistas of a Cold and Unforgiving Landscape is Rough Going, for the Participants and the Audience.
If Your Constitution will Allow such Nastiness to Invade the Sensibilities of Entertainment, there can be Found something of Value in this Decidedly Downbeat Adventure. But Deep Empathetic Viewers may want to Pass, although those with the Guts to Carry On can find a goodly Amount of Artistry in this Offbeat and very Unconventional Western.