THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD
***
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan, Michael Koryta & Charles Leavitt, based on the eponymous novel by Michael Koryta.
Principal cast:
Angelina Jolie
Finn Little
Jon Bernthal
Medina Senghore
Aiden Gillen
Nicholas Hoult
Country: USA/Canada
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 13 May 2021.
Taylor Sheridan once again brings a strong, take-no-prisoners, female character to the screen in his latest feature, Those Who Wish Me Dead. Having toughened up Emily Blunt in Sicario and, to a lesser degree (because she was so tough already), Catherine Keener in the follow-up Sicario: Day of the Soldado. This time he’s not just responsible for the screenplay, but has also taken on directorial duties. His protagonist is Hannah, played by Angelina Jolie, who is an extremely gutsy firefighter, a ‘smoke jumper’ who parachutes into the middle of forest fires. Unfortunately, despite her bravado, Hannah is experiencing a massive bout of PTSD brought on by a bad decision made when she “… read the wind wrong” and the tragic result has left her blaming herself and resorting to reckless behaviour as she tries to come to terms with the calamity.
Set in Montana, the action takes off when forensic accountant Owen Casserly (Jake Weber) heads for the hills with his son Connor (Australian actor Finn Little making his Hollywood debut; local audiences will recall him from his performances in Storm Boy and Angel of Mine) to escape a pair of hitmen who are on his trail because he has stumbled on evidence of large-scale corruption. Casserly is hoping to reach the sanctuary of the survival school run by his Deputy Sheriff brother-in-law Ethan (John Bernthal) and his pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore). A deadly encounter with the assassins, brothers Jack and Patrick Blackwell (Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult), leaves Connor to fend for himself and, luckily, he meets up with Hannah, who has been demoted to fire spotting from a lookout tower in the middle of the forest. The two form a bond but, before they can get away, the forces of both nature and man catch up with them and they are caught between Fire and Fury.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is a fast-action, visually exciting thriller that gets your adrenalin pumping. It utilises many of the same tropes that have energised Sheridan’s other scripts like the two aforementioned Sicario films, plus Hell or High Water and Wind River. He’s a terrific writer of high-octane material like this. Regrettably, this time it’s a little too formulaic to build any real tension and you’re never really left wondering how it’s all going to pan out. Still, Jolie and Little work well together and ultimately the film belongs to both of them. Their scenes are lively and marked by the injection of some mordant humour. A minor criticism (annoyance?) is the excessive use of make-up on Jolie, as she really didn’t need it - Hannah’s spotting fires in the middle of the bush and there’s not a beauty kit in sight.
If a high-voltage, visually commanding disaster-slash-adventure movie is on your list, then Those Who Wish Me Dead delivers for the most part. It’s got some great effects and you can almost smell the smoke as the forest ignites and the trees begin to crash down; indeed, it carries with it a harsh reminder of the terrible fires experienced in Australia last summer.
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan, Michael Koryta & Charles Leavitt, based on the eponymous novel by Michael Koryta.
Principal cast:
Angelina Jolie
Finn Little
Jon Bernthal
Medina Senghore
Aiden Gillen
Nicholas Hoult
Country: USA/Canada
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 13 May 2021.
Taylor Sheridan once again brings a strong, take-no-prisoners, female character to the screen in his latest feature, Those Who Wish Me Dead. Having toughened up Emily Blunt in Sicario and, to a lesser degree (because she was so tough already), Catherine Keener in the follow-up Sicario: Day of the Soldado. This time he’s not just responsible for the screenplay, but has also taken on directorial duties. His protagonist is Hannah, played by Angelina Jolie, who is an extremely gutsy firefighter, a ‘smoke jumper’ who parachutes into the middle of forest fires. Unfortunately, despite her bravado, Hannah is experiencing a massive bout of PTSD brought on by a bad decision made when she “… read the wind wrong” and the tragic result has left her blaming herself and resorting to reckless behaviour as she tries to come to terms with the calamity.
Set in Montana, the action takes off when forensic accountant Owen Casserly (Jake Weber) heads for the hills with his son Connor (Australian actor Finn Little making his Hollywood debut; local audiences will recall him from his performances in Storm Boy and Angel of Mine) to escape a pair of hitmen who are on his trail because he has stumbled on evidence of large-scale corruption. Casserly is hoping to reach the sanctuary of the survival school run by his Deputy Sheriff brother-in-law Ethan (John Bernthal) and his pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore). A deadly encounter with the assassins, brothers Jack and Patrick Blackwell (Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult), leaves Connor to fend for himself and, luckily, he meets up with Hannah, who has been demoted to fire spotting from a lookout tower in the middle of the forest. The two form a bond but, before they can get away, the forces of both nature and man catch up with them and they are caught between Fire and Fury.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is a fast-action, visually exciting thriller that gets your adrenalin pumping. It utilises many of the same tropes that have energised Sheridan’s other scripts like the two aforementioned Sicario films, plus Hell or High Water and Wind River. He’s a terrific writer of high-octane material like this. Regrettably, this time it’s a little too formulaic to build any real tension and you’re never really left wondering how it’s all going to pan out. Still, Jolie and Little work well together and ultimately the film belongs to both of them. Their scenes are lively and marked by the injection of some mordant humour. A minor criticism (annoyance?) is the excessive use of make-up on Jolie, as she really didn’t need it - Hannah’s spotting fires in the middle of the bush and there’s not a beauty kit in sight.
If a high-voltage, visually commanding disaster-slash-adventure movie is on your list, then Those Who Wish Me Dead delivers for the most part. It’s got some great effects and you can almost smell the smoke as the forest ignites and the trees begin to crash down; indeed, it carries with it a harsh reminder of the terrible fires experienced in Australia last summer.