News of the World (2020)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.
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His inherent decency makes "News of the World" work to the extent that it does, and the nature of the quest echoes themes from classic westerns, among them "The Searchers."
Director Paul Greengrass, who directed Hanks in “Captain Phillips,” draws upon the vibe of a lot of Westerns, with “The Searchers,” the classic 1956 John Ford film starring John Wayne, especially prominent.
That same spirit informs Paul Greengrass' News of the World , an epic Western with an intimate gaze that recalls The Searchers and True Grit , providing Tom Hanks with one of his best roles since the same director's Captain Phillips .
The plot is a mashup of two John Wayne westerns, "The Searchers" and "True Grit," that can't match either in emotional impact.
However, “News of the World” borrows more from John Wayne, reimagining “The Searchers” if it didn’t end with Ethan Edwards walking off from an open sunlit doorway.
If we were to conduct a poll of the most trusted actors in America, I’d argue Tom Hanks would be near the top of that list — and Hanks is perfectly cast as an 1870 news anchor of sorts in Paul Greengrass’ gritty and visceral and deeply resonant “News of the World,” a rough-and-tumble Texas road-trip movie that plays like a hybrid of the John Wayne movies “The Searchers” and “True Grit” and even reminded me a little of George Clooney’s recent epic “The Midnight Sky.”
The plot is a mashup of two John Wayne westerns, "The Searchers" and "True Grit," that can't match either in emotional impact.
If we were to conduct a poll of the most trusted actors in America, I’d argue Tom Hanks would be near the top of that list — and Hanks is perfectly cast as an 1870 news anchor of sorts in Paul Greengrass’ gritty and visceral and deeply resonant “News of the World,” a rough-and-tumble Texas road-trip movie that plays like a hybrid of the John Wayne movies “The Searchers” and “True Grit” and even reminded me a little of George Clooney’s recent epic “The Midnight Sky.”
It reminds you of both classic John Wayne films–“The Searchers” and “True Grit.”
Adapted by Luke Davies (“Lion”), the plot is derivative of other father-figure westerns such as “Ride the High Country” (1962) or “True Grit” (1969), but the language barrier makes it a fresh take on an old idea.
What we have here is a cross between two classic John Wayne movies: “The Searchers” and “True Grit.”
Greengrass surrounds his star with a stellar ensemble, including Ray McKinnon, Elizabeth Marvel (solidifying the already unmistakable connection to “True Grit”), and Bill Camp (who only has one scene, but it’s a beaut).
The pitch-perfect emotional interplay between Hanks and Zengel, the seasoned veteran and the promising newcomer who bring out the best in each other, recalls the fascinating give-and-take between director-star Francois Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Cargol in Truffaut’s The Wild Child (1970), a not-dissimilar story about a learned man’s efforts to bestow the profoundly mixed blessings of civilization on a youngster who, all things considered, might be better off unbound by those constraints.
The film’s centerpiece—a brilliant mountainside action sequence—utilizes terrain and directionality in ways reminiscent of Anthony Mann’s best work, and is just as intimately tense as the climax of The Naked Spur .
I keep coming back to Stewart and the hard, broken men he played in those remarkable Anthony Mann westerns — “Winchester ’73” (1950), “Bend of the River” (1952), “The Naked Spur” (1953) — and remain in awe of the nerve with which the actor dismantled his “aw-shucks-Jimmy” image.
But until “News of the World,” Hanks had not broached Stewart’s formidable Western filmography, such as “The Naked Spur,” “Winchester ’73,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and more.
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He’s not a regretful sinner like Eastwood’s William Munny in Unforgiven , nor is he a veteran harboring racist feelings towards the Native Americans like Wayne’s Ethan Edwards in The Searchers (though Greengrass doesn’t miss a chance to pay homage to a famous shot from that film).
Hanks is watchable as always, playing Kidd as an amalgam of Rooster Cogburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven , your classic American hero who doesn’t start a fight but is willing to finish one, who stands up for the little guy but doesn’t want to make a big thing out of it.
It’s the kind of raw, revisionist stamp that separated Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” (1992), Kevin Costner’s “Open Range” (2003) and most of Sam Peckinpah’s Western classics from the morally right black-and-white Hollywood studio staples.
Es el tipo de sello revisionista crudo que separó Unforgiven de Clint Eastwood (1992), Open Range de Kevin Costner (2003) y la mayoría de los clásicos occidentales de Sam Peckinpah, de los básicos de los estudios de Hollywood en blanco y negro moralmente correctos.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Dances with Wolves or Unforgiven mixed with one of the more square Hanks vehicles like Bridge of Spies or Greyhound , maybe a smidgen of True Grit (both of them) or a pinch of Lone Wolf and Cub thrown in there.
A little bit of The Searchers (1956) and a little bit Dances with Wolves (1990) aided by a familiar Tom Hanks persona to comfort and quell our anxiety in a hopeless world, Greengrass creates a universally compelling if somewhat familiar tale of empathy and woe.
His journey is a father figure arc that works thanks to the exceptional German child actress Zengel, who recalls Michael Apted’s “Nell” (1994) when she first appears in the wilderness.
Echoes of gritty ‘70s revisionist westerns – think Peter Fonda’s The Hired Hand , or Robert Benton’s Bad Company , or Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller — reverberate throughout News of the World , writer-director Paul Greengrass’ richly detailed, strongly acted and exceptionally well-crafted post-Civil War western, an uncommonly compelling drama that arrives just in time to qualify as one of the best movies released during a year when we need all the good news we can get.
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Echoes of gritty ‘70s revisionist westerns – think Peter Fonda’s The Hired Hand , or Robert Benton’s Bad Company , or Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller — reverberate throughout News of the World , writer-director Paul Greengrass’ richly detailed, strongly acted and exceptionally well-crafted post-Civil War western, an uncommonly compelling drama that arrives just in time to qualify as one of the best movies released during a year when we need all the good news we can get.
I keep coming back to Stewart and the hard, broken men he played in those remarkable Anthony Mann westerns — “Winchester ’73” (1950), “Bend of the River” (1952), “The Naked Spur” (1953) — and remain in awe of the nerve with which the actor dismantled his “aw-shucks-Jimmy” image.
But until “News of the World,” Hanks had not broached Stewart’s formidable Western filmography, such as “The Naked Spur,” “Winchester ’73,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and more.