The Dead Don't Hurt

6/10 for this western based love story, written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, it's a visually great looking film but the characters and story just don't really grip at all. And feels very long and gets long in the tooth. Acting is good, but can't save the sloth like action, a disappointing film, not the worst out there this month, but worth the trip, maybe not. Viggo, I think, can make a good director, and the music, also by him, works well, but the story, just did not do much for me, and this is the first of the western film genre films, coming out this year, not the best start, who will go see this film??

Despite the fact that the plot has plenty of holes, this western just about works. It's all about the determined "Vivienne" (Vicky Krieps), very much a woman in a man's world of pioneering in the 1860s. She encounters the honest and thoughtful "Olsen" (Viggo Mortensen) and travels to his remote, and rather ramshackle, shack where they begin to make an home for themselves. He takes a job as their sheriff and she, a little to his chagrin, starts working in the saloon. He is restless, though, and with the American civil war looming large, he decides that he ought to use his Danish army training and go enlist. She's not enamoured of the idea, but off he goes and that leaves her alone and firmly in the sights of spoilt local "Weston" (the rather un-menacing Solly McLeod). When "Olsen" returns from the war quite a few years later he is presented with a few shocks! Subsequent events take an even more tragic turn, and now he must face his demons and settle accounts. This is a grand looking romantic drama that takes it's time to get going and that allows Krieps to invest strongly in the maturing elements of her character. That he would just saunter off for years and leave her alone and unprotected does beggar belief a bit, and there's no denying that does negatively impact on the plausibility of what, rather obviously, comes next. Still, there is enough meat on the bones of the story, an effectively sparing amount of dialogue and a soupçon of chemistry between the two at the top of the cast that gives some indication of just how tough and lawless life was and at how difficult it was to be decent!

Beautiful story about the love of two outsiders in the countryside, where they just want to survive and build a home, and trying to keep the distance from the archetypical western "heroes". Wonderfully photographed tale, and Viggo Mortensen did his best as a director, actor, writer and composer. Sometimes, it's a bit too slow, otherwise, I appreciate that they didn't fill the story with common cowboy stuffs and self-serving violance - Mortensen's movie isn't about the danger and corruption of the west, but about independence and strong, unique connection between lovers. I really like the middle part, where the film switched to Vivienne's subjective perspective.

The Dead Don't Hurt

Viggo Mortensen wrote and directed the Western, The Dead Don't Hurt, a story set at the onset of the Civil War. A Danish American meets a French (or Canadian, it's not really clear) American in the American frontier, and they fall for each other but choose not to marry.

Olsen's dream location is a barren piece of land that seems unsuitable for his partner, Vivienne. She makes the best of it by getting a job at the local saloon, and plants flowers and vegetables the best way she can. Olsen, however, feels this urge to go fight in the Civil War, leaving her by herself.

Like most stories of the American frontier, there was not a lot of lawful behavior. With Vivienne now alone, shenanigans ensue. In fact, we know most of the outcome during the opening scene, which I haven't decided was the right decision. But there is enough mystery that I stayed interested, though ultimately disappointed.

I had some trouble with the story as a whole. Showing patriotism for the new country that was still being settled is honorable. But abandoning a woman who begrudgingly decided to stay in a harsh environment was very pathetic. His selfishness sets forth a chain reaction that resulted in a very chaotic ending. Passion for what you love is one thing, but it's meaningless when it comes at the expense of who you love.

I'm also a bit tired of the lawlessness old West trope, even if it's an example of accuracy. Our cartoonish villain's (Weston) father is even afraid of him, along with pretty much the entire settlement. Come on, Viggo. The characterization was just sloppy, and Weston really was only there to give the most extreme of outcomes to Olsen's choice.

I disliked the very end, and I'll leave it up to my readers to see if they feel the same.

The frame of this film is ingenious, beautiful landscapes and most of the score played by a string ensemble with piano. Acting is also great with the main characters saying more with their glances than a thousand words.

The negative thing is this film takes ages to get to the meat of the plot, namely when Olsen leaves Vivienne to rejoin the army consecutively showing what happens to her while he's away.

Just before that we were at the point to stand up from our seats and leave the cinema hall. Luckily I held on to my principle to watch films to the end, even if they're bad, so in the end we had an enjoyable afternoon at the cinema.