The Homesman…

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~Wednesday~  I watched The Homesman (2014) with Bob tonight.

Raleigh was expecting 4-8″ of snow, and I asked Bob if he wanted to be snowed in together for the first time in our relationship, and he said, “Sure!” He’d already ordered, and received, this movie with his NetFlix subscription, so we watched it together.

I’d never heard of this film in spite of its many award nominations and wins, including:

  • Tommy Lee Jones’ nomination for the Palme d’Or, which is awarded to the director of the best feature film, at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival
     
  • Second place in the 2014 Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress to Hilary Swank
     
  • Winning the 2014 Women Film Critics Circle Award for Women’s Work/Best Ensemble

The synopsis

Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy, who in turn employs low-life drifter George Briggs to assist her.

The trailer

My thoughts and observations

  • Although it was dark, and had a few brief scenes that were hard to watch, I really liked this movie.
  • Themes touched on:
    • Society’s handling of the mentally ill
    • Gender roles
    • Doing what’s right even when it’s hard, when it’s inconvenient, or when no one’s looking
    • Love and rejection
    • Greed
    • Revenge
    • Changes of heart
  • I thought the flashbacks that attempted to provide background on how each of the three mad women had become that way could have been done better. For me, it was hard to clearly follow which story was whose.
  • I was totally stunned (as was Bob) by one turn of event in the movie.
  • It was interesting watching George Briggs (played by Tommy Lee Jones) desperately trying to remain a badass—even as Mary Bee Cuddy (played by Hilary Swank) pointed out that what he was doing was for a good so much greater than the $300 he kept insisting was his sole reason for doing it.
  • Meryl Streep just had about a 10-minute appearance near the end of the film, but as is always the case with me, she was a joy to watch. And her daughter actually played one of the mad women.
  • It was very interesting watching a 20- to 30-minute extra on the DVD, which talked about the making of the film and interviewed the main actors about how it was working on the film.
  • I gave this movie two thumbs up.

Have you seen this movie? If so, what did you think of it?
 

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