X
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 2 m
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 2 m
Summary When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George B...
Directed By: Tommy Lee Jones
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 2 m
- 2014
- R
- Roadside Attractions
- 2 h 2 m
The Homesman
68
6.5
Where to Watch
Summary When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George B...
Directed By: Tommy Lee Jones
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 43 Critic Reviews
68
74% Positive
32 Reviews
32 Reviews
19% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
7% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 43 Critic Reviews
68
74% Positive
32 Reviews
32 Reviews
19% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
7% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Jones, as always, knows what he’s doing. In only his second feature as a director, the laconic 68-year-old star has made a wrenching, relentless and anti-heroic western that stands among the year’s most powerful American films. Not everyone will like The Homesman, but if you see it you won’t soon forget it.
Jones’ riveting Western is bleak and very nearly misanthropic, but it's also passionate, earthy, unpredictable, sensitive, and gloriously distinct.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 72 User Ratings
6.5
56% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
36% Mixed
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
8% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 72 User Ratings
6.5
56% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
36% Mixed
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
8% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Engaging and original- it was refreshing to watch a movie that was really interesting and bravely told a story that was so very sad and I think, thought provoking. The bleakness of the landscape is confronting and serves as a suitable metaphor for the bleak lives lived by the three 'mad' woman and indeed of that of the female protagonist, Cuddy. Hilary Swank and Tom Lee Jones were both excellent in the portrayal of their characters. It really is a very unique movie, loved it.
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Tommy Lee Jones shows some true storytelling grit in this superbly watchable frontier western; he has a muscular and confident command of narrative, driving the plot onward with a real whip-crack, and easily handles the tonal swings between brutal shock, black comedy and sentimentality.
Very much a feminist Western — one painting a vivid picture of how difficult it was for even a strong and determined woman to survive in frontier days.
The Homesman, director Tommy Lee Jones’ drama about the hardships of pioneer life in 1850s Nebraska, goes from deathly dull to shocking to intriguing to “Look, there’s Meryl Streep in a bonnet!”
There’s a wishy-washiness to the film’s ideological bent that keeps steering things in a more conventional direction, as if Jones (or perhaps Glendon Swarthout, who wrote the source novel) were afraid to take this risky material all the way. It’s a decidedly bumpy ride to an odd destination.
The film occupies that peculiar space that many of us would prefer to believe doesn’t exist, a movie that’s worthy but often inert, by turns enriching and enervating: a good boring movie.
This movie is a small movie with an small story and Tommy Lee Jones the director of this movie decided to make this a two hour long picture. And that is where this movie for me flaws. There are certain scenes that felt out of place and unnecessary involving characters that didn't add anything to the plot and for me were just there to make the movie's run-time longer. A lot of those unnecessary scenes where also very vague and they messed with the characters. Some choices which were made by certain characters felt unrealistic in regards to the character who made those choices. Also the first 30 minutes of the movie were a bit messy. Some shorter scenes were put in there to set up the plot, and dit did, but the scenes (which were about the same subject) would have worked better if they were just put together in one big scene in some sort of compilation.
But besides those flaws: the writing was good and the acting and the cinematography were too. This movie also has some really unpredictable turns in it, which I really liked. The drama in this movie will please the drama fans for certain. And overall: this is a good movie.
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Often called a "feminist western", The Homesman is decidedly not feminist and instead incredibly sexist. That aside, it is only a middling success. The cinematography is the best thing this western has going for it, as the shots here are truly gorgeous from beginning to end. The premise is interesting and well realized. Heck, even the characters are very well done and have nice little arcs to them. That said, the acting is spotty, the film is decidedly dull, and I typically avoid chalking up sexism as a con unless blatant, but the fact the film pretends to be feminist is what makes me do this. Ultimately, the film could use better pacing, but as it stands this one largely satisfied me. Truly dark and depressing, The Homesman is hits all of the western trademarks and brings some fresh twists to the arena.
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Tommy Lee Jones directed and stars in this film about an intense, independent pioneer woman (Hilary Swank) who volunteers to deliver three mentally unstable wives back to a more civilized place. Jones plays the shiftless reprobate who she enlists to help her on the strenuous trek. The story unfolds in small episodes that provide short glimpses into their characters and situations they face. It's a bleak time and the threats they face are continuous. The film's mood reflects this (although Jones manages to give his character a few comic flashes). It's a sometimes uncomfortable journey (in both senses), but not especially intense or emotional. Still, if you have a taste for frontier stories you might find it interesting.
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Feminism? Hardly. A strong and determined woman relies on a ner-do-well man and then hangs herself when he rejects her. Meryl Streep and Hilary, what were you thinking? The images portrayed of women and mental illness reflect stereotypes from the medieval ages, replete with biting, scratching, staring, screaming and infanticide, all of it allegedly caused by mean men and stark countryside. National Alliance of the Mentally Ill should have organized a protest.
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Production Company
EuropaCorp,
Ithaca,
The Javelina Film Company
Release Date Nov 14, 2014
Duration 2 h 2 m
Rating R
Tagline The untold story of The West.
Awards
Women Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2 Wins & 7 Nominations
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
• 2 Nominations
International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
