It would not be accurate to say the Western is dying as much as the Western is different nowadays. More commonly seen is the revisionist western, the neo-western, or other countries exploring their historical frontiers through the genre’s trappings (i.e., South Africa’s Five Fingers for Marseilles, Ireland’s Black 47, Germany’s The Dark Valley). Occasionally there is something on the level of a Hostiles or The Magnificent Seven remake, or more askew like Slow West or Sisters Brothers. So it’s safe to say a lean, no-nonsense throwback like Old Henry comes across as a rarity, a Western with no pretensions beyond wanting to play in the genre’s sandbox and execute those familiar tropes with its own gritty flair. Director-writer Potsy Ponciroli packs a plethora of entertaining Wild West thrills into a concise 99 minutes.
Economically plotted and skillfully paced, Old Henry condenses a tale of father, son, injured stranger and nefarious interlopers into a small-scale pressure-cooker of a film. Filmed earlier this year, the movie’s scale being a COVID limitation becomes obvious in hindsight but never intrudes in the moment. Set primarily on and around isolated Oklahoma farmland, Henry (Tim Blake Nelson) raises his son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis) in relative solitude until trouble inadvertently enters their lives. A satchel of cash, a gunshot rider (Scott Haze), a menacingly smarmy Stephen Dorff and company close behind: Ponciroli lights the fuse early and delights in the winding tension and spurts of conflict that ensue along the path towards an eruptively violent finale.
Echoes of Eastwood’s Unforgiven undoubtedly ripple through Old Henry. Narration and a knowing reaction to that bag of money hint at past trials far removed from farming; the film’s volatile father-son drama reflects a similar struggle between dark past and unassuming present. With a lesser actor, the narrative would’ve suffered a painfully derivative fate but Nelson disappears into the hefty lead role, a sharp glint in his haggard gaze and a cunning intensity coiled behind a weathered frame. His chemistry with Lewis is a hardened warmth that’s equally sincere and guarded, gifting Old Henry with a genuine core to overcome its cliched nature. Acting opposite Dorff or Haze reveals other grizzled facets, all emerging organically in a transformation that pays off by the final act. In a cast of six main players – all getting their moment to shine – the veteran character actor gives a riveting performance that naturally straddles father, frontiersman and gunslinger.
But alongside Nelson’s presence, the measured pace is Old Henry’s secret weapon. Ponciroli’s direction and script precisely oscillate between simmering drama and tense conflict, each confrontation more charged than the last. Threat looms palpably right from the vicious opening, gradually catalyzing into several sequences of seat-edge suspense that use the setting and landscape to great effect. A late-story reveal has the potential to distract with its grandiose build-up and ties to Wild West mythos, but can’t derail Old Henry from bursting into an immensely satisfying guns-blazing finale. Regardless of whether the reveal works, Nelson and his fiercely convincing physicality gives Nobody’s Bob Odenkirk a run for his money as the best older-guy action-star of 2021.
With a fantastic Nelson in the lead, this is an awesome showcase of strong execution energizing well-trodden ideas and stories. Old Henry may not add a single new note to the Western, but like a well-oiled six-shooter, its genre machinery clicks into place smoothly and explodes viscerally.
Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios
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