The Homesman

A devastatingly authentic portrait of what it's like being married to Tommy Lee Jones.

destined to be read far too superficially, it seems. if you saw this film retreat into a conventional male redemption arc you weren't paying attention. the harshness and bitter regret of this thing sneaked right up on me, and the leftfield twist was the hardest kick in the balls i've felt all year. it's tommy lee jones' UNFORGIVEN. hilary swank is divine.

I have a theory that all westerns are ultimately, distilled to their essence, about rape - rape of the land, of a culture (indigenous or otherwise), of character or innocence or property or propriety. A violation from dominance. Jones' film senses this theme, always flirting with that line separating order from chaos - the best moments are infuriating because they seem to merge the two. The film drifts into unpredictability, but, on the edge of civilization, what else is there?

I enjoyed almost every moment. I was also profoundly perplexed by the plot. With qualities rarely seen in film, the flawed characters feel genuine. Great cast. Hillary Swank & Tommy Lee Jones were very good. Many events are unexpected & a few were devastating. We are never sure where the story will go. It is unique, raw & strangely satisfying. You will be yelling at the screen & thinking about it afterwards.

It's always nice to see a well-made western. This ain't no feel-hood, 'cowboys and indians' type thing though - it's a dirty, depressing tale. Tommy Lee Jones' direction is good and the cinematography is very nice. There are great performances all around, too. I don't think I have much else to say about it. It came and went, and it was good, but it didn't leave me with much. Hmm. Worth a watch though, I think.

Touted as a 'feminist western', Jones' The Homesman does take a few risks while satisfyingly conforming to genre conventions in a disarmingly offbeat fashion. The performances are uniformly good--it's easily Swank's best role in years--and nobody plays craggy curmudgeonly pricks like Jones--but Jones eventually loses control of the tonal gear shifting, and there is a portentous quality to the drama that's often hard to swallow. In the end, The Homesman is easier to admire than love.

Some excellent performances, at the service of... what? Very odd flick. One has the distinct impression it's not really about the superficial plot points, but then one can't figure out what it IS about.

Brilliantly recreates a sense of how hard frontier life must have been. Fabulous performances from all but the story drifted off course and failed to make the impact that it could have done.

Both cynical and tender in mostly the right proportions, "The Homesman" can be fragmented but it's also moody, realistic and subtly moving -in other words, an undramatized western done right. Jones and Swank do what they do best with conviction and even a touch of self-irony, the scenery is hypnotic and watch out for the (almost "Game of Thrones"-esque) plot twist and the bitterly festive finale.

The Homesman is a good movie that a lot of people aren't going to like. It's bleak, cynical, and not a whole lot of fun, which turns off a lot of people. If you're one of them, go watch a John Wayne Western instead; they're more "fun." The Homesman, by contrast, explores people and takes directions that you might not expect based on its belief about people. Its actors are great, it's mostly entertaining, and it does a lot that those looking for a deeper and darker Western will want to see.

Slow burn westerns are a favorite of mine, so this was refreshing for something I haven't even heard of. Jones and Swank are their solid selves and a stellar supporting cast shows up for limited roles.

Great production with a stellar ensemble cast in Tommy Lee Jones' second theatrical production of this, what's been styled as a feminist western. For me it was headed towards being a near masterpiece when it took a very dark turn that undercut whatever it might have been trying to say. It's certainly interesting and tied up nicely, but still, what's the point.

A two-hander with excellent performances by Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones that ultimately has nowhere to go.

Can't quite compensate for the sluggish pacing in the first half, but enjoyable nevertheless. Stellar cast, gritty story.

I didn't think this movie was bad. I really didn't like how Hilary Swank died,but other than that i thought it was an okay movie. The plot isn't bad, nor the casting choice. Tommy Lee Jones was great, as well as the 3 crazy woman.

The Homesman is a compelling western, that is true. But no, it itsn't a great film. The performance of Swank really is undermined by Jones; he is excellent in this film. But it is a slow story, and it's odd too. Not made for everyone, I must admit. 48/100.

It's, like, OVERPOWERINGLY depressing and bleak--so much so that I can't recommend it, and sure as hell don't wanna get near it ever again. Its thesis is basically that the frontier will kill you,drive you insane, or, at the very least, beat you to a pulp, so don't even try to fight it. "You're gonna lose," says this movie. "These characters are gonna lose. Let's watch them lose, shall we?" Oof. Unfailingly well-made, with some great performances, but oof.

Very bleak and completely unexpected.

A truly feminist western -- and not so much revisionist, as Tommy really shows an authentic but traditional approach to the genre. The tiny bits of comedy are truly awesome, but what stands out is the powerful portrait of the west in crisis -- nothing to eat, women get crazy, no man wants to marry Hilary, men can't quite work because they're too busy getting drunk and being violent and so on. What a film.

The beginning was confusing, stumbling from scene to scene. It all smooths out once they get the wagon. It might be nice if there was one sane person in the movie.

This is a western with a lot on its mind; it's uniquely interested in the role of women in the western narrative, which is not only an interesting approach but something the genre sorely needed. Despite some genuinely devastating material and good performances (Swank, who I generally don't care for, is great), however, the film's tone never really fully commits to the bleakness of it all and the end result is a solid film that doesn't satisfy as well as it should.

Very good.

In Nebraska sometime in the 19th century, three pioneer women go insane, and a homesteader (Hilary Swank), accompanied by a ne'er-do-well she saves from hanging (Tommy Lee Jones), volunteers to take them to Iowa. They are ultimately beset by travails from within and without. Strange, tonally wonky Western which mixes tragedy, comedy, and absurdity in unequal measure; it makes some dubious narrative choices, but Swank and Jones are good, and Jones' direction is hardly to be faulted.

1284: bitter taste!

If this is Tommy Lee Jones' farewell to The Great Western it's beautifully done. A few unnecessary scenes drags down.

Jones struggles to organize The Homesman's interesting thematic material into a tonally cogent story, and Swank never elevates her lead character into anyone worth emoting over.

A sudden shift in POV that steals the spotlight from where it was better suited results in the whole movie becoming a meandering affair instead of an engaging character study.

Solidly Western, unfortunately with a twist that shifts the perspective abruptly. The last 1/3 is typical, the first 2/3 is something worth noting.

2016/02/06

Boring as hell except for people from Utah with 300 miles separating them from their nearest neighbor. The most exciting point of the film was midway when I got up to take a pee.

Fine slow burner. Even if a little depressing. Life was hard in territories, i get it. What about Fichtner (have this feeling he would be a better lead than Lee Jones) who was billed as 4th/5th and had one or two lines here :/

An odd little film about a whole lot of odd characters. Seriously: no major characters in this film are normal, so prepare yourself for a heaping helping of weird. And a bit of disturbance. All that said, it surely gives an accurate insight to just how gritty life was for frontierspeople. The acting was good, the plot at times indecipherable, and the point of the film opaque. Yet I suspect I'll remember this film more than most.

Notable for its atypical perspective, however, it doesn't really do enough with it. Well performed but overall it just doesn't sing.

It's a good story, I guess, but...I don't know if the campy performances make it seem that way or if the writing's just that clumsy. Or if it's the other way around... The boring cinematograpy, the cheap production design, the dull sound design and the cheesy score don't help.