Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis own the screen as enemies in this gritty and chilly western.
“The Thicket” is an independent western that reminds us about a lot of things. One is that it draws the lines between courage and cynicism. Another is that I think this marks the first time Juliette Lewis plays a killer since “Natural Born Killers” 30 years ago. Or I could be wrong. There are lot of movies and too many of them for my mind to count. And it allows Peter Dinklage to balance his attitude and acting with the right direction by Elliott Lester.
So while “Horizon: An American Saga” is facing some financial troubles (even cancelling the second part indefinitely and adding it to the Venice Film Festival), we can see “The Thicket” with better pacing and characters.
Based on Joe. R. Lansdale’s novel, the story is set in turn-of-the-century East Texas (actually filmed in Canada, where else?), which still has horses, but cars and motorbikes are coming in. It’s also set in the winter, which can remind us on even non-westerns like “Fargo” and “Wind River,” especially when we see both sides from the heroes and villains.
There’s a notorious killer Cut Throat Bill, who is a woman (Lewis) and has her band of outlaws murder an old man (Guy Sprung), kidnap his granddaughter Lulu Parker (Esme Creed-Miles), and leave her brother Jack (Levon Hawke) for dead, just as the family lost their parents to the smallpox pandemic. When Jack wakes up, he enlists the help of the bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) and his ex-slave assistant Eustace Howard (Gbenga Akinnagbe) for help.
Don’t let Reginald’s size fool you. He talks the talk and walks the walk. Meaning that he handles his enemies in his own dangerous ways, and then has the gaul to agree to help with Jack’s mission, on condition that he follows his rules. It makes sense that Dinklage would act and feel tough, considering that Hawke’s character hams things up. And then, we get the obligatory “rules have changed” conflict between the two men.
Then, Jack rescues a prostitute named Jimmy Sue (Leslie Grace) from a brothel, and she could be of use to these men on their rescue mission, which is supposed to end at what is known as “The Thicket.” “You’re gonna rescue every whore you meet along the way?,” Reginald asks him. And then, we see Jimmy with a red Pam Grier hairstyle attacking some of the villain’s men.
When Bill and Reginald meet for the first time, she says: “You’re the littlest man I’ve ever seen,” and he responds: “You’re the ugliest.” I admire the snappy comebacks here, which aren’t too obvious, just daring.
And when Bill deals with Lulu, she, at least, has the decency to deal with her would-be rapists. But there are warning to Jack from other people, that his sister would come back a completely different person. But he has the faith that he would reunite with her.
The performances from the young actors-Hawke and Creed-Miles-aren’t as excellent as Dinklage and Lewis (and it’s not always easy knocking young actors), because they don’t put enough effort into their characters. But “The Thicket” is still gorgeously photographed by Guillermo Garza and I meant what I said about Dinklage and Lewis doing entertaining work as the hero and villain. And we also get some good supporting work from Akkinnagbe and Grace, who don’t try to overshadow one another, but adjust to their characters with timing.
“The Thicket” doesn’t need commercialism to sell the movie; it needs the right actors and true grit. Pun intended, partner.
In Select Theaters