Review of Hostiles (2017) by Matthew D — 08 May 2018

Hostiles Looks Inward at Great Length.

Scott Cooper is a director with a keen eye and sharp storytelling. Hostiles is so beautifully shot with a lovely natural background and plenty of nature to look at always. However, Hostiles suffers from extremely slow pacing. I cannot imagine anyone enjoying Hostiles for the entire run time. This film is simply too long. You can easily imagine cutting an entire hour from this movie. All the focused narrative, deep meaning, and solid acting in the world cannot makes Hostiles pleasant to sit through.

The music is quite hauntingly beautiful when it does chime in, but there are many long stretches of silence for atmosphere. The result is a quiet movie with the occasional memorable musical moment.

The acting is the highlight, especially Christian Bale who carries the film. Rosamund Pike is good and very emotionally expressive, but she does not get much to do. The rest of Hostiles' ensemble is well cast, but they often feel tacked on to the plot. The supporting cast delivers excellent lines with conviction, but are not memorable overall. Hostiles wastes all its accumulated talent. Only Bale shines through Hostiles' darkest stretches.

In all, Hostiles keeps in line with the Western genre with deep moral questions, gorgeous scenery, clever shots, and nice acting, but it cannot overcome it's daunting run time. Hostiles is only for the most die hard Western fans. I would rather recommend 3:10 to Yuma with Bale or a film like Hell or High Water instead.