The Homesman (2014)

I'm a pretty big fan of Tommy Lee Jones as an actor, and recently as a director. His film Three Burials for Melquiades Estrada was a wonderful film. It reminded me of some of Peckinpah's better work, but that's another discussion entirely.

The Homesman is his latest film, and looking at the poster, it appears to be a Western, but isn't your father's Western. The only thing you could consider Western, is the setting and attire. This film is a brutal look at life during westward expansion. Instead of the warm colors of John Ford's films, we are given a cold, harsh reality.

It's not the easiest film to watch, but it's definitely a good film. This doesn't paint the romantic view of the west that is in so many films. It is also not playing for the Academy by giving you a "Sad for the sake of being sad" experience that so many of our wonderful Oscar winning pictures have.

I'm not going to say what all it's about, but I will say, I have been thinking about it, ever since I watched it 2 days ago, and that's saying something for a newer film.

I highly recommend this film, but watch it by yourself the first time you see it.