The Stolen

The first act is pretty good and succeeds in engaging the viewer. But as the plot unravels it gets harder to stay engaged as disbelief sets in. Several interesting plot points are introduced but never resolved.

The best part is the scenery, it is very beautiful to look at, with majestic mountains and rich flora. It is New Zealand after all. I kept looking for Frodo to pop in for a cameo.

The presentation of frontier life in the fringes of civilization was also interesting, and illustrated very well the randomness of death that could surprise even the seasoned and experienced,

Alice Eve does a great job with the starring part as the distraught mother, but as the story collapses there is not much she can do.

But the scenery and the dangers by themselves does not make a god movie. The last 30 minutes steadily go downhill until the weak ending.

Side note, a better movie with Alice Eve is Replica, with Keanu Reeves. That one is a 7.5 .

There could be quite a few exciting and interesting films set in NZ during this time period and earlier but they don't seem to be getting made and this TV movie with it's complete lack of reality does not cut it.

As an enormous fan of Westerns and a New Zealander, I was so excited to watch this film - having now seen it I'm left with nothing but disappointment. I'll run you through a quick pros and cons list

Pros

• Beautiful scenery
• Interesting and under-explored setting

Cons

• Predictable plot
• Idiotic characters
• Several poor actors
• Weak third act
• Little to no character development in anybody other than the protagonist.

This film feels like it's building to something that never comes. I had enormous hopes and probably a pretty large bias towards the film from the beginning, but it still failed to even entertain me. 4 stars

Set in 1882 on South Island, New Zealand, this adult drama has a number of preposterous plot elements and is not exactly your feel-good movie of the year, but it held my interest throughout and I wondered how it would all turn out. Alice Eve stars as Charlotte Lockton who has relocated to New Zealand from England with her husband David. However, soon after their arrival her husband is killed by home invaders and her baby boy kidnapped.

Charlotte will risk it all by embarking on a hazardous wagon trek (transporting supplies and prostitutes) to the Wild West-like environs of Goldtown. where she will try to locate and take back her baby boy. They'll be plenty of violence and unpleasantness to come as the movie progresses.

Overall, as mentioned, despite its flaws I found myself engaged enough and I particularly liked the ending here.

Not sure about the negative "western" comments as if the US was the only place that ever had horses and gold towns. We thought the story, the acting and the scenery were all quite good.