“The important thing is to make a different world…A real world, a genuine world, but one that allows myth to live. The myth is everything.” – Sergio Leone Like many film genres, the Western has a number of subgenres all its own. From the horror Westerns like Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk till Dawn and S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk to comedic Westerns such as Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles and Clint Eastwood’s Bronco Billy, this genre has certainly not escaped new, original twists on the endless tropes and plot conventions that defined it for nearly a century.
Perhaps the most prolific Western subgenre is that of the Neo-Western. Having written about some good and bad Westerns already, I want to examine some of my favorite Neo-Westerns that (in my humble opinion) represent the best of the genre. But first, I address the question: what is a “Neo-Western”? In many ways, this subgenre emerged and garnered popularity in the mid-2000s with the Coen Brothers’ 2007 feature No Country for Old Men, based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. In its purest form, the Neo-Western deconstructs the tropes and conventions of traditional Westerns films by (among other things) placing Western archetypes in a modern setting.[1] Many seem to agree that the defining element of Neo-Westerns films is the relationship between lawlessness and morality.[2] In many films of this subgenre, the laws of nature supersede the laws of civilizations for political, economic, cultural, or environmental reasons. As a result, the characters in these films often wrestle with a lack in moral clarity surrounding their own decisions and the decisions of others. Whether it’s a federal agent being forced to participate in extralegal tactics in the fight against the drug cartels in Denis Villenueve’s Sicario, or an FBI investigator having to rely on locals to aid to learn the truth about the murder of a young woman in Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River, the rules of mankind are thrown out the window. This lack of strong moral guidelines frames not only what the characters do but how they live with the consequences of their decisions. So, what are some of my favorites Neo-Western films? Without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED!! Brokeback Mountain (2005) Days after publishing her short story about two cowboys who fall in love in The New Yorker in 1997, author Annie Prouix was asked by writer Diana Ossana for an option to write a screenplay based on her story. Despite her trepidations about her story’s potential feasibility as a film, Prouix agreed. Ossana completed the screenplay in 1998 with her writing partner Larry McMurtry, and struggled for years to get financial backing from a studio. Over the next several years, development of the film picked up steam when award-winning Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi) became re-interested in the film despite considering retirement after making his 2003 comic book movie Hulk. Despite some studios deeming the project risky, casting was underway. Despite other actors being considered for the two lead roles, Lee claims that no other auditionees except for Heath Ledger (Monster’s Ball, The Dark Knight) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac, End of Watch, Nightcrawler) were courageous enough to accept the roles. Principal photography began in the summer of 2004 on location in Alberta, Canada (even though the short story took place in Wyoming). Both Gyllenhaal and Ledger spoke highly of Lee’s hands-off, disconnected directing style which allowed for improvisation, self-improvement, and becoming comfortable with each other during the more intimate scenes. Released in December of 2005, Brokeback Mountain ended up grossing nearly 180 million dollars on a fourteen-million-dollar budget. While it was largely praised by critics, there was some pushback from figures in conservative media and various organizations that deemed the film’s subject matter inappropriate. Still, the film ended up on dozens of film critics’ top-ten lists for the year and received eight nominations at the Academy Awards, winning three: Best Director for Lee, Best Adapted Screenplay for Ossana and McMurtry, and Best Original Score for Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel, Biutiful). Today, Brokeback Mountain is regarded as one of the most important pieces of LGBT cinema and a significant example of progress in terms of the portrayal of same-sex relationships in popular media. In reading up about this film, I learned that many of the people involved (including the leads) agreed that its central theme is loneliness. The two protagonists, Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), find love with each other during one fateful summer herding sheep. But, they exist in a mid-20th-century society which they both know will not accept their relationship. So, they spend the next several years living apart, getting married, and having children all while taking time off work now and again to go on fishing trips together and rekindle their love, if only briefly. What makes Brokeback Mountain so powerful in my eyes is its expertly-crafted deconstruction of the “star-crossed lovers” trope to deliver a modern love story that transcends any criticism of it by embracing the relatability of unattainable love. To do this, it embraces the truth of its core message to deliver a deeply tragic tale of two men oppressed by the time and place they live in and thus must suppress their true feelings and never live honestly. Its strengths are too numerous to single out, but I found the two lead performances from Ledger and Gyllenhaal to be simply astounding. Their chemistry on camera makes Ennis and Jack’s story all the more heartbreaking by the end. While certainly a sad film about loneliness, Brokeback Mountain is undoubtedly one of my favorite modern deconstructions of the Western genre. It may even be one of my top-50 films of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, please do so. It’s worth it! 😊 Hell or High Water (2016) Texas native and former television actor Taylor Sheridan has written three films that he refers to as a trilogy of “the modern-day American frontier.” The first was the 2015 thriller Sicario, directed by Quebec native Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049). The second in this thematic trilogy was filmed in New Mexico from May to July of 2015 on a twelve-million-dollar budget. Upon release in August of 2016, Hell or High Water went on to gross nearly 40 million dollars and received universally positive reviews. Many critics claimed that the film revitalized the genre as a whole. Much of the praise was for Sheridan’s screenplay, which ended up getting a nod at the Academy Awards. In addition to being nominated for its writing, Hell or High Water was nominated for three other Oscars: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (for Jeff Bridges), and Best Film Editing. I was genuinely unsure if I would enjoy Hell or High Water. Aesthetically, it seemed too similar to films like Sicario or No Country for Old Men which would turn me off. Thematically, I was unsure if it could pull off the kind of socioeconomic message that it was aiming to. Thankfully, I was proven wrong. Hell or High Water is a thoroughly enjoyable watch and one of the better embodiments of the Neo-Western genre in recent years. On the one hand, the main performances here all excel at what they need to. The dynamic between Chris Pine and Ben Foster as brothers Toby and Tanner, respectively, makes their noble cause for robbing banks both relatable and enticing to watch. Equally, seeing their downturn into the depths of chaos they created for themselves by the end of the film is all the more satisfying as Tanner stays behind to give Toby time to flee with the money. And the final scene of Toby’s visit from the Texas Ranger who followed his and his brother’s trail, Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges), is a great way to wrap up the story of both characters. Moreoever, Hell or High Water packs a thematic punch as it dissects modern American poverty. If you combine the underlying dire socioeconomic conditions of this film with the cultural existentialism for Native Americans in Wind River (writer Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut), it quickly becomes clear that the Neo-Western is a necessary realm for filmmakers to use in exploring the struggles of modern American “outcasts” and “vagabonds” by humanizing their struggles for the audience. On top of all that, the robberies, chase scenes, and shootouts are entertaining and absorbing. So, if you’re just looking for a good time with a well-constructed action film, Hell or High Water is for you. But if you’re looking for a modern classic that has something to say while also being entertaining, then Hell or High Water is definitely for you. Logan (2017) Despite the mid critical and unexpected commercial success of 2013’s The Wolverine, director James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted, Ford v Ferrari) and star Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, Prisoners, The Greatest Showman) indicated that a third film was not a foregone conclusion. Out of a desire to go beyond what they did together in The Wolverine and provide some finality and closure to its protagonist, a third Wolverine film was announced to be in the works by 20th Century Fox as early as 2014. In the pre-production phase, Jackman (according to Mangold) often brought up more intimate character studies (The Wrestler and Unforgiven, to name a few) in outlining what he wanted for his character’s swan song feature. Ultimately, the film became a unique re-telling of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s 2008 Marvel Comics run of the “Old Man Logan” storyline. Additionally, classic Western films (particularly Shane) ended up influencing the film’s tone, themes, and visual storytelling. Filming took place from May to August 2016, spanning locations such as New Orleans, Mississippi, and New Mexico. Prior to the film’s release, Jackman confirmed on his social media that his performance in Mangold’s film would be the last time that he played the claw-wielding superhero that he first starred as in Bryan Singer’s 2000 superhero film X-Men. Upon the release of this film, Jackman would have racked up a total of nine performances (seven starring roles and two cameos) in Fox’s ensemble comic book franchise over the course of seventeen years. Released on March 3, 2017, Logan became the fourth-highest-grossing film in the X-Men franchise (behind Deadpool 2, Deadpool, and X-Men: Days of Future Past) by making over 600 million dollars worldwide. Also, it stands today as the sixth-highest-grossing R-rated film behind (among others) 2019’s Joker and both Deadpool films. Additionally, the movie was critically praised; many cinephiles called it one of the best comic book films ever made. Jackman’s performance was singled out alongside Patrick Stewart as Logan’s mentor/father figure Charles Xavier and Dafne Keen as Logan’s clone Laura/X-23. Logan also became the first live-action comic book film to be nominated for its screenwriting at the Academy Awards. Ultimately, it is the best-reviewed film of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise among review sites like Rotten Tomatoes. Honestly, I have no idea how to condense all of my thoughts about Logan into several paragraphs. Similar to my desire to write an entire blog about Dances with Wolves, my love for this film cannot be adequately summed up in a fifth of the word count. So, I shall do my best to focus on specific aspects of this film as they relate to my exploration of the Neo-Western and this film’s place within that subgenre. First off, what impresses me the most about Logan is the character arc of its protagonist. Hugh Jackman expertly portrays the incredible journey about a man displaced from time whose only goal at this point in his life is to save up enough money, buy a boat for his mentor/father figure to die in, and then put a bullet in his brain. He is a character who has spent well over one hundred years killing to save his friends whom he outlives no matter what he does to prevent it from happening. His healing abilities keep him from dying, so the essence of his existence is never having to confront his own mortality while constantly facing the mortality of those he loves and those he kills. Much of the emotional core of Logan is Wolverine gradually taking on the responsibility of keeping a young mutant clone of himself, Laura, out of harm’s way while taking her to a safe haven for young mutants. While not the most original storytelling device, the adoptive father-daughter relationship that Wolverine and Laura develop with each other is an immensely effective one. Not only does Laura come face to face with the hero she has come to admire in a comic book, but she finds love with the closest thing she has to a father. Through his protection and delivery of Laura to safety, he comes to care about someone again. By the end, he relishes feeling love and facing mortality while looking upon Laura’s face hoping she will not become the heartless, cruel weapon that she was made into. All of this is thanks to the palpable chemistry between Jackman and Keen. There are few character arcs in film as good as that of Wolverine in Logan. Few superhero films also achieve this kind of deeply personal and powerful character study (in many ways, only 2019’s Joker can compare). In that sense, Logan is a unique deconstruction of the superhero genre through the demythologization of its protagonist. Unlike the classical hero who upholds tenets of nobility, tradition, and honor, Wolverine retains a hyper-pragmatic sense of his own understanding of right and wrong and (mostly) cares little for the lives of others. Many heroes carry some visage of hope; not Wolverine. Instead, he embodies existential nihilism as someone who lives forever but never stops feeling pain and guilt. Thus, Logan is a prime example of both a Neo-Western and a postmodern comic book movie. One way to look at the evolution of genres is in four stages: experimental, classical, parody, and deconstruction.[3] The first stage involves the rules of the genre being created and defined, while in the second stage those rules are refined and serve as the bedrock of all films within that genre for a time. During the third stage, the tropes and expectations of the genre have become so familiar to audiences and artists alike that they are satirized and lampooned. But it is the final stage―deconstruction―that films like Logan represent. For it is through deconstruction that genre films break the conventions which confined their predecessors in order to transcend the genre and create something new. Of course, all Neo-Westerns (by definition) are examples of this. And I would argue that Logan is a deconstruction of the comic book movie formula established in the 2000s by films like Spider-Man, Batman Begins, and Iron Man. Besides its character work, Logan successfully deconstructs the Western and the comic book movie through the thematic relationship between violence and morality that it explores. As I am easily entertained by senseless violence in movies, I understand why many people are turned off by otherwise-great films due to what they perceive as excessive violence. In my humble opinion, Logan is a film that is not overtly violent just for the sake of it. Instead, the harsh world established in the film is an honest reflection of how Wolverine has survived and continues to survive as a mutant and outcast: by killing whoever gets in his way. Furthermore, by integrating intimate acts of violence with Wolverine’s powers, Logan masters that inner conflict between violence and morality. For Wolverine must harm others to survive regardless of whether or not he wants to, yet it is the ability to harm others that keeps himself and those he cares about safe. One final thing I want to touch on with the film is the parallel symbolism of the landscape and mutants. In the film, mutants are nearly extinct and an essential part of its story is the fact that society has rooted them out to the point where they are mythologized. The film’s obvious inspiration by Westerns seems to confirm that this element of its subtle world-building is a metareference to the common theme of “the dying frontier” in Westerns. This makes me glad that the Western exists if only for Logan to be an homage to them. All in all, Logan is a more visually and thematically rich and nuanced film than most comic book movies tend to be. Not only is it one of my favorite genre-bending examples of the Neo-Western, but it is arguably my favorite superhero film of all time. I cannot understate how much watching this film is worth it. Wind River (2017) Inspired by the “thousands of actual stories” of indigenous women who are sexual assault and/or murder victims, Taylor Sheridan decided to complete his trilogy of “the modern-day American frontier” by writing and directing the film that would become Wind River. He wanted to make people aware of the neglect of Native American women. After principal photography occurred in Utah from March to April of 2016 on an eleven-million-dollar budget, the film was released in the late summer of 2017 and grossed 45 million dollars. It also received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, although some within the indigenous community criticized the film for casting some of the indigenous parts with non-indigenous actors. Having not loved Sicario but really enjoyed Hell or High Water, I was cautiously optimistic about watching Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut and the third act in his “frontier trilogy.” Needless to say, my expectations were greatly exceeded. There are many things I could say about Wind River, but instead I will focus on my two favorite things about it. First and foremost, Sheridan (as both writer and director) does a fantastic job overseeing the creation of a film and story that appeals to a diverse audience in the best way. While critics tend to appreciate its cinematography, performances, and themes explored, audiences seem most absorbed by the story, use of tension, and characters. In other words, Wind River pulls off what most movies either fail to do or bother not even attempting: it is a film that almost everyone who watches it can appreciate. While this may sound easy, there are countless examples of films that fall flat on their face trying to appeal to too many people but that end up appealing to very few. Primarily, these movies focus too much of their energy on trying to cross over the so-called “boundaries” that divide critics and audiences rather than transcending them to offer something for any lover of film, casual or otherwise. Instead, Wind River effectively provides an entertaining murder mystery, a gripping and tense thriller, some well-constructed action sequences, and exploration of resonant themes in order to be a film for virtually anybody. The other thing that I thoroughly enjoy about this film is its powerful and relevant message about the continuing legacy of erasing Native Americans’ struggles and experiences from contemporary memory. While films like Dances with Wolves do a great job humanizing the past of indigenous peoples, Wind River does very well to show that (similar, though not akin, to the ongoing legacy of slavery) our society wants nothing more than to ignore the present-day lives and experiences of Native Americans. The simple fact that (as the epigraph of the film’s final shot states) indigenous women are the only demographic whose “missing persons” number is not tracked by the government is proof enough of white society’s demand to forget about indigenous peoples. While the story focuses primarily on uncovering the mystery of a young woman’s rapist and murderer, the powerful subtext of Wind River emphasizes that justice for this one Native American does not (and will never) make up for the centuries of injustice committed all of them. By setting this film in a modern setting rather than playing into the “hindsight bias” of films like Dances with Wolves, Sheridan forces his audience to confront the fact that Native Americans exist to this day and that their influence on our society remains important to highlight in an effort to at least establish a dialogue dealing with how to help them today. For those who have not seen Wind River but are interested in watching an engrossing mystery-thriller set in the contemporary West with a powerful cultural subtext, I cannot recommend it enough. Nomadland (2021) Over the course of three years, New York Times journalist Jessica Bruder drove for 15,000 miles all across the country while living in a van documenting the lives of older Americans who, in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, left their domestic lives behind in search of seasonal work and becoming nomadic “vandwellers.” Her work eventually became the book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century,” published in 2017. The book went on to be recognized by the New York Times and was nominated for several awards, winning the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. In early 2019, Searchlight Pictures was announced as the distributor for a film adaptation of Bruder’s book which would star and be produced by Frances McDormand (Mississippi Burning, Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and would be written and directed by Chloé Zhao (Songs My Brothers Taught Me, The Rider). Principal photography took four months over the course of the fall of 2018, with Zhao relying primarily on non-actors who are/were real “vandwellers” to portray fictionalized versions of themselves. Nomadland initially premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September of last year, but was theatrically released in the United States last month. It won several awards at film festivals, notably honoring Zhao as the writer/director and McDormand as the lead actor. The film has been universally praised, with both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute listing it as one of the ten best films of 2020. At this year’s Golden Globes, Nomadland won Best Drama and Best Director, making Zhao the second woman and first Asian director to receive the latter. Surprisingly, Nomadland is perhaps (thematically speaking) most similar to Hell or High Water. Both tell the stories of the economically disenfranchised who seek purpose and refuge out west by taking their own unconventional paths to finding those things for themselves. Of course, the Howard brothers in the latter adopt a criminal lifestyle to do so whereas Fern (Frances McDormand) adopts a loner, migratory lifestyle to do so in the former. Evidenced by my ranking at the end of this blog, I found Hell or High Water to be slightly more entertaining. But I think that Nomadland is a great example of blending fiction and reality to shine light on truth. Zhao’s expert usage of real-life nomads to fill out the cast of colorful folks who Fern encounters throughout her travels makes the world of 21st-century American nomads believable right away. Also, the film makes the most of its star to humanize the motivations, desires, struggles, and triumphs of this particular group of marginalized people who feel they have been given no choice but to reject the life being handed to them in exchange for one that prioritizes freedom and frugality over a life of plenty. If anything, I was hoping for Nomadland to explore more of the political dimensions of this story by elaborating more on why these peoples’ lives have arrived at where they are. But, at the end of the day, I respect the work that Zhao, McDormand and everyone else involved in this film did to explore the deeply personal dimensions of such a lifestyle. So, while not my favorites Neo-Western film, it is one that resonated with me and one that I highly recommend. Ultimately, I am grateful for having gone on this weeks-long journey reflecting on my complicated feelings about the Western. I have come to hate some in the genre and love others. I have come to recognize that the Western might be the quintessential American film genre. I may consider superhero comics (and the films inspired by them) to be America’s mythology, but I now see an argument for Westerns filling that role in film history. Its exploration of the hero’s journey in a rough-and-tough environment, the dissection of morality in dire circumstances, and the capturing of some of the most beautiful landscapes this side of the Prime Meridian all make the Western arguably the signature element of American cinema to this day. And while there are other takes on the genre throughout history and across the world (notably the films of Akira Kurosawa, such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo), few can match the historical legacy or contemporary cultural impact of films like The Searchers, Dances with Wolves, and Brokeback Mountain. With all that being said, below is my ranking of all of the Western movies I have discussed in blogs over the past couple of months:
What is your favorite Western film? Do you even like Westerns? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38XFRVrJxk8&list=WL&index=57 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxLLmy5Su4&list=WL&index=59; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ipV8AP8vAQ&list=WL&index=59 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxLLmy5Su4&list=WL&index=56
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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