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Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles” starts with a scene which is reminiscent of John Ford’s “The Searchers”, and it is solemn and grave. While all of this is happening, a family of homesteaders, a mother, father, and their three children, are going about their day when a band of Comanche warriors rush to their ranch. Father grabs a rifle to protect his family but unfortunately, he is cut down and scalped. The Natives kill all of the children before setting the ranch ablaze, and the mother hides in the woods, desperately trying to survive.
However, the comparison to “The Searchers” is not wholly accurate. Cooper’s film aligns much better with “revisionist” westerns such as Robert Aldrich’s “Ulzana’s Raid” Unlike other neo-westerns this month, Cooper’s work, along with Jared Moshe’s “The Ballad of Lefty Brown,” takes elements from classic westerns made by Ford and Howard Hawks. Making all of this digestible, Cooper’s film is one of the most vivid and compelling pictures to portray the bitter, violent hatreds separating Native Americans from the settlers and soldiers pushing into their territories.
The film has a lot to offer. Apart from the splendid view provided by the cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi, Cooper also gets fine performances from a masterful cast comprising Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Ben Foster, Scott Wilson, Q’orianka Kilcher, and Timothee Chalamet. The fault this film has is the same as what many other ambitious films struggle with, and that is the story. The story has promise, but not much more than that.
The film was scripted by Cooper and the first act only begins when it changes from the jaw-dropping slaughter to a cavalry fort where the always unwilling Captain Joseph Blocker played by Bale earns his title precisely due to being given supplemental works. Blocker is instructed to capture a resistant war chief, and commander of the aged, bed-ridden, Cheyenne chief Yellow Hawk Played by familiarly Studi. But now, as the pleasant interlude of Lee surrendering to white hegemony draws to a close, an affable new aura in Washington has decided that it is time for the chief to die in is more progressive home. This all leads to Blocker being given orders to escort a yellow hawk on a long roaring journey, and instead of following the order, he decides to purposely get out of the march court to accept it.
His altercations with Indians and the violence Indian nationalists imposed on him fuel his hatred which, at this point, runs deep in him. The reason Bale is so effective in portraying the character is a Christian bale skill that is brimming with anger and utter resentment. “He has been left in exasperating and grieving pain. As the cliche goes, his eyes speak louder than cameras; He is brazenly tortured which is chased by sorrow whilst reminiscing the past torment.” The brute features of Bales face save him from the curse of covering his mouth with a handlebar mustache.
Blocker displays his full power of intimidation by keeping the dignified chief in chains mutilating his dignity. The party that arrives at the ranch tends to panic after witnessing a massacre and Rosalee Quaid, the unmet wife of the massacred village, comes out traumatized. That combined with the unconcealed statement that the warriors from the above-mentioned Comanche village will cross into her territory, signals thunderous trouble. Blocker has a perpetual task that, for most of the first half story, is fighting his way through Comanche territory and trying to remain alive.
Next, they reach a fort where it is decided that Mrs. Quaid will travel with Blocker and his men, who now have an additional task along with their original one: They are to escort a soldier charged with murder (Foster) to a town for his trial. At this point, the story begins to lose its focus. Some Natives, look upon American settlers with contempt. Some soldiers also despise each other. Which problem are we interested in? While Blocker and the prisoner do have some history concerning hostility over Indian fighting, this entire segment of the story seems to be irrelevant and wandering.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Blocker heals his inner self by attempting to accept and recognize the Indians as human beings. It is a commendable theme as well as premise, but it remains unfulfilled at best, and certainly unsatisfying. While Blocker’s gradual change of heart, which ultimately also includes the first timid steps towards romance with Mrs. Quaid, is well acted out by Bale, the actor does the best he can to save an otherwise disastrous role, the Indian parts are, quite simply, the most underdeveloped aspect of the entire production. The venerable Wes Studi is, in addition, a great actor and a commanding presence, but his character had little to no layers or depth written for him, allowing practically none for the other Indians as well.
Combined, this results in a film that has its acting and cinematography on point, but is untidy, too long, losing focus on the central matters for extended periods. In terms of politics, “Hostiles” is unable to address the genocide of Native Americans because it focused mainly on one (white) man’s story, which in itself is a powerful, if outdated narrative, and never addresses.
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