Movie Review - The Homesman

The Homesman *½ (out of 5) (R) The promise is a major problem in this tedious attempt at dramatizing the overwhelming rigors faced by the pioneers who settled our Wild West in the early 1800s. Isolation, absence of all the amenities and security sources that were available even then “back East”; small communities struggling to take root in harsh open spaces with wild, unpredictable weather patterns and dangers from many human and other menaces. No one could completely count on anything or anyone, making families the most reliable of source of safety, however short of expectations they might fall.

This noble endeavor motivated Tommy Lee Jones to co-write, direct and play one of the lead characters. Its lofty goals attracted Hilary Swank for the other, as well as John Lithgow, James Spader and even Meryl - friggin’- Streep!!! in atypically small supporting roles. Yet for all that, the production only succeeds if you define that concept as making a movie as dreary and bleak as the harsh lives it tries to depict. Swank reluctantly assumes the arduous task of driving a wagon with three mail-order wives back to “civilized” Iowa from her little cluster of dirt-poor farmers in the Nebraska Territory, after that life had driven the women to dangerous states of insanity. Jones plays a grizzled reprobate she picks up along the way for back-up, despite serious misgivings about his character.

The two-hour running time seems much longer, as too little occurs, and much of that makes no sense. Their month, or so, on the trail seems out of season for the alleged time of year, even in that part of the country. The three damaged damsels are poorly and inconsistently presented. At least one major plot development involves an unpardonable betrayal of everything we’ve learned about a key character to that point, detracting further from anyone’s empathy with the story until it finally (if not mercifully) limps to a close. How can five actors with 6 Oscars, 12 Emmys and 13 Golden Globe awards among them go so horribly wrong? No matter how badly you may clash with your family, Thanksgiving with them is likely preferable to this turkey. (11/26/14)