Review of The Homesman (2014) by Gwen P — 14 Nov 2014

A lonely, but intrepid pioneer woman (Hillary Swank) teams up with a wayward fortune hunter (Tommy Lee Jones) to escort three women who have gone insane across the Nebraska Territories back to civilisation.

While The Homesman is a rare Western in that it has a female lead character, it does not serve women at all well.

The three insane women, driven into their condition because they, unlike their husbands, could not deal with the harsh conditions of the Frontier, are basically props without any individuality, while Swank's character is initially portrayed as such strong, no-nonsense personality, that her own eventual breakdown comes completely out of the blue and out of character.

The conclusion seems to be that womenfolk have no business being in the West, a place reserved exclusively for rugged Real Men like Tommy Lee Jones.