The Dead Don’t Hurt
Viggo Mortensen produces, directs, acts, writes…and composes! But this is a Western with a difference — uniquely, it doesn’t glory in its violent moments (they’re very to the purpose), and gets us thinking deeply. Incredibly intelligent and beautifully shot and acted, we reflect on violence against women, law, justice and power, the bravery and strength of survivors of abuse, what it means to be American, without ever being preached at. The story is so strong, and so are the characters.
Playing with time too, we start almost at the end and jump backwards and forwards between points of view. Viggo Mortensen’s Holger Olsen meets Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) in San Francisco. She’s French-Canadian and remembers the loss of her father murdered by the English, her childhood dreams of Joan of Arc and of a knight finding her in the woods to pay her homage. She’s being bored by verbose Colin Morgan when she meets Olsen and follows him to his dusty, mouse infested homestead. Ironically he’s chosen this place because it’s quiet, which it both proves, and proves not, to be. Resourceful and speaking her mind, Vivienne challenges and delights Olsen.
Holger is a terrific builder of barns, but also chooses to go and fight in the Civil War. Used to earning her own living, Vivienne finds work in the local saloon, encountering the unhinged Weston Jeffries (Solly McLeod), son of Alfred Jeffries (Garret Dillahunt). Jeffries and the Mayor are carving up the town between them, flaunting the law, denying justice and even committing offocial murder, aided and abetted by a shameful Bible pronouncing Judge (Ray McKinnon). Weston brings her unasked for presents, then checks up on her one evening — unfortunately he’s come with evil intent. Having pushed his way into her home, she tries to fight him off, he uses strength and violence against her to rape and abuse her. What we see is the impact of the abuse — Krieps crumpled body and the way she shows us her face — half bruised and bloodied and battered. We feel the psychological and emotional impact of what has been done to her against her will as well as the physical. Her sheer indignity as she’s been left, crushed.
At first Vivienne wants to flee — then she recalls her heroine Joan of Arc and makes a stand, showing her battered face to the world. Similarly she has to face her attacker — who still bears the scars from her trying to fight him off. Equally brave is Vivienne’s decision to bear and love the child created from horror, in a sense she has no choice. But as she says ‘he is mine’ and she chooses to love him. The gut-punch of Olsen’s rejection of her honesty and bravery hits home when he returns from his war and discovers the war that Vivienne has been in.
At first he silently rages, walking off, riding away, raging against and rejecting God by throwing his displayed cross into a pool. But he comes to himself and chooses to love, Vivienne and the boy, blaming himself for leaving her. Ultimately he’s also chosen revenge as Vivienne begins to decline, perhaps also due to the attack on her. Taking his boy, Olsen leaves and seeks his enemy out, ending the movie in justice, peace and beauty. Here we get the classic ‘High Noon’ encounter — but on horse back and with a trick or two!
One of the few movies I’ve seen that doesn’t enjoy it’s violent moments, but uses them purposefully. Nor does it exploit the abuse of women or those ‘othered’ by the embryonic society. We react with the characters on screen and feel the ugliness of such attacks. Nonetheless, we can also enjoy the beauty of trees and flowers, a scrubbed clean floor, a sudden gift of fish, a beach, a pretty dress, art, music. And the language — Mortensen has given us a gift of 19th-century speech, from the Bible quoting Judge (sadly corrupt) to the measured language of the powerful (the town movers and shakers), and the multiplicity of other languages (Norwegian, Danish, French, Spanish, Asian, indigenous). Love also Colin Morgan’s verbose art connoisseur going full Dickens!
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