Viggo Mortensen’s Western chooses mood over mayhem
The Dead Don’t Hurt (15)
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a gnarly title for a Western that prioritises character over bloodshed and mood over mayhem. Not quite old school and not quite revisionist either, Viggo Mortensen’s sophomore film as a writer/director (he also does the music and co-stars) takes a circuitous route to get to the killing we know is coming, but the non-linear plotting Mortensen deploys also enables him to put an intriguing female perspective on a traditionally masculine genre.
That perspective comes from Vicky Krieps, cast here as Vivian, the French-canadian partner of Mortensen’s Holger Olsen, the reluctant sheriff of the frontier town they’ve settled nearby. Holger’s a stand-up guy, but he also disappears for years to fight in the Civil War, leaving the independently minded Vivian to navigate both the hardships of life on a barren range and the unpredictable whims of a town-full of corrupt and violent men, none more so than Weston (Orkneyborn actor Solly Mcleod), the psychotic son of a local land baron (Garret Dillahunt).
The film opens with multiple deaths for which we know Weston is responsible and these deaths give the ensuing movie a tragic dimension as it jumps around in time to sketch out not just the context of the killings, but also the origins of Vivian and Holger’s relationship.
Riddle of Fire (12A) JJ
A group of feral children embark on an elaborate quest to source the ingredients for a blueberry pie in Riddle of Fire, a precocious, amateurish, selfconsciously retro American
indie film that mixes bits of Arthurian legend with the twee vibe of hipster comingof-age films like Beasts of the Southern Wild and Wendy. Set in a fictional town in rural Wyoming, it kicks off with pintsized siblings Hazel (Charlie Stover) and Jodie (Skyler Peters) and their best friend Alice (Phoebe Ferro) stealing a video game console only to discover the boys’ mum (Danielle Hoetmer) has passwordprotected their TV so they can’t play it. She agrees to unlock it if they get her a blueberry pie
– a task that leads them deep into the woods and quixotic
adventure involving guntoting rednecks and a coven of witches.
Hard Miles (12A) JJJ
Inspired by a true story, Hard Miles, from co-writer/director RJ Daniel Hanna, finds Mathew Modine on charismatic form as Greg Townsend, a teacher at a young offenders institute who uses his passion for cycling to set his students on the right path by taking them on a 700km bike ride to the Grand Canyon. All films on general release