By: G Wayne
Copyright © 10/01/07
G Looks at the Movies
I don't know. Maybe I have seen too many westerns where
bigger-than-life heroes would jump out of the pages of history
and on to the silver screen, immersing me in a ninety minute
glimpse of how it was back then. Could it be that cavalry soldiers
are not as colorful as Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, or Wyatt
Earp? In Hostiles, there was plenty of blood splattering about as
bullets ventilated people's heads and little girls and infants were
shot down while attempting to run away. There was even a
heartfelt scene where the dead sergeant is propped up against a
tree, his revolver cradled in his lap and still dripping with rivulets
of blood. A hardened, tempered man, living a life too difficult for
even him to avoid suicide.
Christian Bale was truly believable as Capt. Joseph J. Blocker, the field leader that suffered with the guilt he felt for every soldier lost under his command.
Rosamund Pike as Rosalie Quaid brought home what horror it would be to have your whole family gunned down by a thievin' redskin. (This sentence is not meant to cast aspersions on Native Americans, the head bad Indian's face was completely painted red. And he did take stuff.) She adds depth to the movie while making a transition from the fear and loathing of every Indian, to a growing love and camaraderie for the good Indians that empathized with her hardships and nurtured her as a family member.
Chief Yellow Hawk, played by Wes Studi, was the tragic soul ravaged by cancer and wanting to die at home. He instilled himself into the audience as the wise old chief that we would all like to palaver with, and perhaps kick around the peace pipe.
The movie is a great shoot'em up western with all the trimmings, but it was like watching it through a fogged window. It did not draw me in.
Perhaps it was like the last scene at the 1892 vintage train station where the bedraggled props and baggage carts with bent wheels looked more like low grade museum pieces than set decor giving credence to being in 1892.
Christian Bale was truly believable as Capt. Joseph J. Blocker, the field leader that suffered with the guilt he felt for every soldier lost under his command.
Rosamund Pike as Rosalie Quaid brought home what horror it would be to have your whole family gunned down by a thievin' redskin. (This sentence is not meant to cast aspersions on Native Americans, the head bad Indian's face was completely painted red. And he did take stuff.) She adds depth to the movie while making a transition from the fear and loathing of every Indian, to a growing love and camaraderie for the good Indians that empathized with her hardships and nurtured her as a family member.
Chief Yellow Hawk, played by Wes Studi, was the tragic soul ravaged by cancer and wanting to die at home. He instilled himself into the audience as the wise old chief that we would all like to palaver with, and perhaps kick around the peace pipe.
The movie is a great shoot'em up western with all the trimmings, but it was like watching it through a fogged window. It did not draw me in.
Perhaps it was like the last scene at the 1892 vintage train station where the bedraggled props and baggage carts with bent wheels looked more like low grade museum pieces than set decor giving credence to being in 1892.