Review of Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) by Compi24 — 22 May 2021

Nowhere near as raw and as potent as co-writer/director Taylor Sheridan's previous effort "Wind River," "Those Who Wish Me Dead" leaves much to be desired in the structural/pacing department, but it's still a couple notches above what I'd consider "sophomore slump" territory.

As with other efforts in Sheridan's filmography (both as a director and a screenwriter) the set piece design and gunplay are intoxicating, featuring numerous moments where both the tension and the audience's expectations are toyed with marvelously.

All of the narrative parts work here as well, but only really on their own. Where things get messy is in the confluence of all these different story pieces, namely the fact that the crux of the narrative - a friendship between a woman and a child - remains the most underdeveloped facet in question.

None of these pieces are necessarily bad or poorly executed, but the divvying up of screentime between each plotline felt a little off to me. Wouldn't surprise me to hear that there's about 10-15 minutes of this movie that didn't make it past the cutting room.

Maybe they should have. In any event, the final product makes for a decent, rainy day watch, but that's about it.