I know I like what I'm watching when I don't skip any scenes. I did not skip a scene in this movie. It's that good. Given that it came out in 2017, I wonder why this never crossed my radar.
The story revolves around Capt. Joseph J. Blocker (Christian Bale), a union officer who has seen and done enough gruesome acts while fighting Native Americans. On his last mission, he has to escort Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi, he played Sagat in the 2015 live-action Street Fighter movie) and his family back to their native land. These two lived very violent lives and they share bad blood.
Blocker wants out of the mission but he has no choice cause his pension is on the line so he goes through with it. Yellow Hawk is dying. You can tell they are done with their pasts but as we all know, sometimes, it's just hard to let go of who you once were.
The movie poster says it all: We are all Hostiles. The prejudice, violence, and hate here are very much in your face. The first 9 minutes and 16 seconds dare you to look away; some people might want to, but you won't. You're left there, sitting, transfixed while you squirm inside your skin. You want to look away but you won't.
Those first few scenes and most of the rest of the film shock you. They leave you feeling dirty. "Hostiles" makes you realize that we are all capable of hurting others given the right motivation.
That feeling doesn't go away until the third act. It is a Western after all. The pacing wasn't too bad for an escort mission. It helps build tension. Oh, and you get some beautiful shots of the party traversing the picturesque landscape then BOOM! Something bad happens.
Pretty shot... BOOM! Something extremely sad or violent happens.
Then another.
Then another.
It's not all dread, though. There are moments of redemption in this film. When they come, you feel refreshed. It makes you realize that we aren't all evil after all.
The actors give powerful, believable performances, and most, if not all the characters in the original party grow as the movie moves along (except for Timothée Chalamet's character cause spoiler: he dies almost right away, it was a good performance, though). They all overcome or come to accept their burdens, however heavy these can be.
I like a line Rosamund Pike delivers "Sometimes, I envy the finality of death. The certainty. And I have to drive those thoughts away when I'm weak. We'll never get used to the Lord's rough ways, Joseph".
That, I think, is what's good about Hostiles. It tells its audience that with enough time, understanding, and a little room for acceptance, all our prejudices and hate melt off, eventually. This film leaves us with a promise that no matter how bad things can get, we can hold on to the hope that some semblance of peace is waiting for us in the end.
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