Old Henry Movie Review

Old Henry (2021)

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Written by: Potsy Ponciroli
Directed by: Potsy Ponciroli
Starring: Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Haze, Gavin Lewis, Trace Adkins, Stephen Dorff
Rated: NR [PG-13]
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Plot
A farmer takes in an injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse comes for the money, the farmer must defend his family, revealing a gun slinging talent that calls his true identity into question.

Verdict
This movie remains constantly engaging, and it's not just because of the action. Even conversations are intense with characters harboring secrets and frustrations. A wrong word could start a physical or verbal altercation. As much as I liked this, the ending puts it over the top. It's a wait... what? ending that is certainly a surprise, but you realize all the pieces were there when you think about it.
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Review
This opens with lawmen chasing down and then interrogating a man. With the synopsis it's clear where this is going. The man being tracked will run into Henry (Tim Blake Nelson) who's hiding a few secrets about his past. Henry states in a voice over he tried a few different occupations. He's a farmer now that just happens to find an injured outlaw, Curry (Scott Haze).

This seems to be a bit of Unforgiven with a man trying to reconcile his past and present. This is slow paced but relies on tension in conversation to drive the scenes. We don't know Henry's past, but he's a guy that gets stuff done. He's a contrast to his son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis) who hates farming and likes to boast.

Tim Blake Nelson plays Henry McCarty

When Curry's partners find Henry and the farm, that conversation is intense. We soon realize the partners are impersonating sheriffs. They notice that Henry doesn't handle a gun like a farmer. The scene, like most scenes in this movie, feels like it could explode at any moment.

This sets a great tone. The entire movie is a sequence of show downs in different forms. It's conversations, struggles, and eventually shootouts. There's tension between every character. Of course Henry is holding a criminal hostage, but this also Henry's son paying for this sins of his father. Henry had a no guns policy, but now Wyatt is seeing a whole new side of dad.
The movie is sparse. There aren't many locations or actors. I'd bet it was a low budget, but the movie doesn't suffer because of it.

We know from the beginning that Old Henry used to be a gunslinger, but the reveal of his background is well done. It's one you question at first because it's mentioned so causally, but when you think about it there are plenty of clues that corroborate it. It's a strong finish.

This certainly seems to earn a spot next to Unforgiven. After watching this, I went and watched Unforgiven again. While they share similar themes, the latter is undoubtedly the better movie. I had forgotten how good Unforgiven was.