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The Homesman

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The Homesman

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Summary

Western starring Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep. The American Midwest in the 1850s: at the behest of the local preacher, Nebraska farmer Mary Bee Cuddy agrees to escort three women, mentally shattered by the rigours of frontier life, to a place of recovery in Iowa. Cuddy press-gangs ornery George Briggs into helping after saving the old reprobate from hanging. But with brutal conditions, outlaws and hostile tribesmen out on the trail, it proves to be an arduous and dangerous journey.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Leslie Felperin

Hilary Swank stars here as a pioneer woman who volunteers to transport back to Iowa three women from her town who have all been driven mad by life on the Nebraska plains. Tommy Lee Jones (who also writes and directs) plays the shady claim-jumper she saves from hanging and press-gangs into accompanying her. So begins an arduous journey that's a kind of looking-glass western, where key constituents of the genre have been reversed. For example, it's mostly a woman-centric story, although a third-act shock changes the terms dramatically. Meanwhile, the geographical trajectory follows from west to east, from wilderness to civilisation, and that goes with the film's oblique critique of romantic ideas about the frontier. It's a tough-minded, intelligent movie, the kind John Wayne would probably have hated, and very much a 21st-century update for the form. Jones's direction is stylish and assured, and he generously gives Swank room to prove what a great actor she can be with the right material.

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6.6/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameGeorge BriggsTommy Lee JonesMary Bee CuddyHilary SwankAltha CarterMeryl StreepArabella SoursGrace GummerTheoline BelknapMiranda OttoGro SvendsenSonja RichterThor SvendsenDavid DencikVester BelknapWilliam FichtnerReverend DowdJohn LithgowFreighterTim Blake NelsonAloysius DuffyJames SpaderTabitha HutchinsonHailee SteinfeldBuster ShaverBarry CorbinBob GiffenEvan JonesGarn SoursJesse Plemons

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Crew

rolenameDirectorTommy Lee Jones

Details

Theatrical distributor

Entertainment One

Released on

2014-11-21

Languages

English | Danish

Guidance

Violence, sex scenes, nudity

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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