Tommy Lee Jones' 'The Homesman' starring Hilary Swank takes the West seriously

Tommy Lee Jones' The Homesman is a breath of fresh air to the Western genre, with a dark, depressing story playing out in front of gorgeous scenery. While not as excellent as hoped for, the film still does what so few attempts at reviving the Western do, which is take its matter seriously.

Hilary Swank stars as Mary Bee Cuddy, the only person man enough in her community to take on a perilous journey – taking three mad women from the Nebraska territory to a church where they may be saved in Iowa. Even the women's husbands will not go and the local pastor (Jon Lithgow) certainly isn't. So, she heads out on the five-week journey, probably in the hopes that she can bury her own loneliness in the middle of nowhere.

At the start of the journey, she runs into George Briggs (Jones), hanging from a tree. He agrees to go with her to help for $300. They begin to build a rapport and work together well, once he sobers up. Eventually, Briggs begins to accept his role in the journey and it seems they can accomplish the mission. But even in happiness, there's a darkness hidden in The Homesman that will not stand for happy endings.

The Homesman, based on the novel by Glendon Swarthout, is more in line with the classical Western than something like Django Unchained, which is three hours of guns-blaring violence. Like the Coen Brothers' True Grit, Jones goes back to the roots of the Western, where violence is not glorified and should actually be a last resort. No gun shot in The Homesman comes easy and the weight of any violence is seen right on Jones' face. Had Jones entered old age in another era of filmmaking, he would have been in a Western every year.

The actor, who began his career in the late 1960s, understands the importance of the American West and is clearly influenced by the iconic directors. Oddly, he does seem more influenced by Howard Hawks movies like Red River than John Ford. Like Red River, we have two clashing personalities on a journey, but Jones' story has an even darker end.

And that might be the film's fatal flaw. Some of the humor doesn't gel with this overbearingly gloomy tale. At every point, there is someone or some force that gets in the way. There is no safety in The Homesman, as Jones doles out scene-stealing cameos to Tim Blake Nelson and James Spader that slow the movie down. But when the film takes its drastic Psycho-like twist, it picks up new energy and becomes a new, more exciting movie.

Jones' decision to direct this film is the right one, simply because he packed the cast with so many talented actors that he probably didn't have to work too hard to get great performances out of them. Swank is perfectly cast in the role of a commanding woman, who moved from out East. She's painfully lonely, a feeling we get right from the opening scene where she presents a man with the most unromantic wedding proposal possible. Since the Best Actress Oscar race is wide open this year, she should have a shot at a nomination.

Of course, Jones gave himself the best character in the movie. I can't imagine him thinking anyone else would play the part of Briggs but himself and no one could. He's enjoying every minute of this bumbling character and his transformation into a man who suddenly cares.

Nearly every role in the film was taken by a a major star. William Fitchner and Jesse Plemmons play two of the cowardly husbands, while Nelson gets a great scene as a kidnapper. Spader has a small part as a hotel owner who won't let Jones get food for the mad women. Even Meryl Streep appears at the very end.

Following the film's screening, cinematographer Rodrigo Pieto stressed that Jones had wanted a very “minimalist” visual style for the film, which works perfectly well for this dark story of overcoming loneliness. Following the vistas in the opening credits, there are few shots that just linger on the West. We see wide landscapes only to show how distant our characters are from other people, not just to make you impressed by the photography. Indeed, much of the film does play out like a stage play, as there is no improbable action set-pieces.

Pieto also confirmed that Jones decided to have the film shot on actual film rather than digitally. That may sound like the hip, “in vogue” thing for established filmmakers these days, but in The Homesman's case, it just adds to the authenticity. Jones wanted to make a Western that could have been made 40 years ago, so you might as well go all the way.

The Homesman takes the Western back to its roots. The West is supposed to be dark, although the film's incredibly sad tone may be too difficult for some filmgoers to take. But it is only on rare occasions that we get new Westerns that want to explore different territory and not be overwhelmed by references to past films. The Homesman is one such movie.

image via INFphoto.com