Old Henry (Potsy Ponciroli, 2021)

The western is a genre of film so heavily associated with some of the worst aspects of the American psyche and the mythology, it has never been my favorite genres. It's quite possible it's a genre I haven't give a fair hearing. In fact, it's not just possible, it's pretty certain. This being true, Tim Blake Nelson (one of the great character actors not just in his generation, but of all time), in a leading role is enough to catch my attention. To see the film get no shortage of positive reviews wasn't too much of a shock, but it helped get me over my own bias toward the genre and give it a shot. 

Tim Blake Nelson is outstanding, as always. He may not have leading man looks, but he certainly has leading man talent and charisma, and this is a role practically tailor made for his blend of talents. He somehow gives us a mixture of laconic, sharply intelligent, menacing and warm, in a way that is believable and impossible not to watch. His character, Old Henry, is a man with some serious skeletons in his closet, and when those skeletons start knocking, he can't help but open the door, despite the fact that for a long time, he's been nothing but a farmer with a teenage son to look after. Nelson's portrayal of the character taking a workmanlike approach to all of the events in the film, give the character a feeling of cohesion. This could have gone very differently, presenting the character as having some kind of major reversion, bringing out some long dead aspect of who he was. Instead, it all comes across as the same intelligent man's approach to a number of different situations and problems. Despite how clear it is this is a part of this person he had long ago left in the past, it never feels like he has to be two different people. 

Stephen Dorff is an actor who has just gotten better as the years have passed. His turn as the heavy here is also excellent. The writing gives him a well drawn character, and Dorff takes it to breath life into it. What could have been a very one note, uninteresting villain is instead a good counterweight to Nelson and his performance. This would have been a much more boring movie if Dorff's character was played with nothing but the standard bravado of a western baddie. To the film's service and the audience benefit, we get two men who though capable of great violence are patient and intelligent first and foremost, trying to measure each other until the finale. 

It's a very basic setup. A horse wanders up to the home Old Henry and his son occupy in Ohio in the first decade of the 1900's. There's blood on the saddle, and Henry sets out to find the rider. He does find the rider, shot and unconscious, along with a saddlebag full of cash. After he brings the man, and his bag of loot home, and begins to treat the man's gunshot. Dorff plays the leader of a trio of men who are looking for this mystery man and the bag of cash. What follows is basically a single location action drama. Gavin Lewis plays Henry son, Wyatt. Half of what we come to learn about Henry comes through his interaction with his son. The other half begins with the wounded stranger. All of it is smartly written, and well acted. Wyatt does come across as a bit of the stereotypical annoying teenager, but given the circumstances and what we come to learn about these two people and their life together, it's understandable too. 

This is a great example of a simple film which doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but certainly hones it pretty closely to perfection. It's a very well done, engaging, revisionist western. It also looks great. Everything in the visual aspect of the film is outstanding. The cinematography, the costumes, the makeup and hair, the set dressing, it's all extremely well done and helps add to the sense of reality built by the performances.  On top of this, director Potsy Ponciroli has a great eye for shooting action. The moving camera in place of cuts as a way to instill some sense of drama and the understanding of how to stage the action in the frame, insuring there isn't the need for a bunch of messy cuts, work to give the two big action scenes tension and clarity. The editing in the film is quite good too, because of how unnoticeable it really is. Each frame and shot has a purpose, and it's not using a strategy of trying to throw a cut at the audience every two to three seconds as a way to create confusion, so often mistaken for tension these days. 

There is something of a twist toward the end of the film, which might be a step too far for western purists or western history buffs, but as a dramatic device, it works well. 

Overall, this is really enjoyable watch.