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Written by: Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies (screenplay by), Paulette Jiles (based upon the novel by)
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Mare Winningham, Elizabeth Marvel
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
A Civil War veteran agrees to deliver a girl, taken by the Kiowa people years ago, to her aunt and uncle, against her will. They travel hundreds of miles and face grave dangers as they search for a place that either can call home.
Verdict
I feel like I've seen this before, from the premise to the plot. I guessed the entire movie just a few minutes in. Tom Hanks is always fun to watch, and Helena Zengel does a great job, but the performances are the only intriguing aspect.
Skip it.
Review
Tom Hanks might be one of the few actors that could make reading the news interesting. Tom Hanks usually delivers a strong performance that often overshadows the movie. This movie is predictable. Captain Kidd (Hanks) is tasked with delivering a girl to her family. It's an odd couple pairing and knowing just the premise I guessed they would learn from each other, face hard times, and become friends. That's exactly what happens.
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| Tom Hanks plays Captain Kidd |
The most fascinating aspect of this movie is how far civilization has come. Enough people are literate that being a news reader isn't a viable occupation.
Why does Kidd take this job? He has multiple opportunities to avoid a task that offers him nothing. He takes the job for the sake of the movie's plot. The only thing I can guess is that this is the daughter he never had, but Johanna is a captive against his will. No one in the movie sees her and thinks, 'I wish that was my daughter.'
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| Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel play Captain Kidd and Johanna |
Half way in this movie felt long. That's due to unfolding exactly as I guessed. It seems to be padding time. At two hours long, this could easily cut thirty minutes and not miss a thing.
It's set after the civil war so the country is still unsettled and this has a western vibe. There's a shootout and even a megalomaniac ruling a town. To develop the characters and their bond this movie goes big, and I really wish it used small moments. I've seen these perfunctory story points before. This could at least balance that. It's trading on Tom Hanks's appeal instead of developing the character.
The ending is easy to guess. I would have liked to see this scrap the happy ending and go darker. Captain Kidd lost his wife, and this could be more of a parallel making a commentary on Kidd's life and why he's a news reader. His life has bright spots, but the baseline is him traveling town to town as he has nothing else. It's a saccharine ending because that's how movies like this should end.
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