X
- 2024
- R
- Elastica
- 2 h 9 m
- 2024
- R
- Elastica
- 2 h 9 m
Summary On the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life t...
Directed By: Viggo Mortensen
Written By: Viggo Mortensen
- 2024
- R
- Elastica
- 2 h 9 m
- 2024
- R
- Elastica
- 2 h 9 m
The Dead Don't Hurt
70
6.1
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Summary On the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life t...
Directed By: Viggo Mortensen
Written By: Viggo Mortensen
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
70
67% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
33% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
70
67% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
33% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Watching this film is a lesson in history. It’s detailed, accurate and meticulous in its presentation of a human drama that realistically could have happened. When you hear about Viggo’s attention to history, this is a western story that becomes and grittier and accurate look into the past and a lesson in history.
By John Kirk
FULL REVIEW
Despite some pacing issues and the fact it leans a little to heavily on extended visual longeurs, this is a fine second feature from Mortensen.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
6.1
55% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
18% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
6.1
55% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
18% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
I thought this was a surprisingly good movie. It wasn't an action movie. It was a character movie in the west during the Civil War that explored how people feel and how they relate; basic human stuff. The time jumping was a bit disconcerting but we got used to it and it didn't seem to matter too much because of the focus on the theme of the movie - the characters viewpoints on hard western life. All in all, we'd rate this: "sit back and have some popcorn and watch a fine movie."
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IN A NUTSHELL:
The story is about star-crossed lovers on the western frontier in the 1960s. An independent, strong woman has a relationship with a Danish immigrant until he decides to join the Civil War effort, leaving her alone to defend herself from the ruthless men who run the town.
Kudos to Viggo Mortensen for directing this character study/romance! He wasn't planning on acting in the movie, but the actor who was cast had to step out due to a work conflict, so Vicky Krieps encouraged Viggo to do it. I'm excited to watch his directing career unfold. His directorial debut was Falling. Oh and by the way, he also wrote the whole shebang!
THINGS I LIKED:
I adore Viggo Mortensen and think he's amazing. I thought he should have won that Academy Award for Best Actor in The Green Book! He was so great in that! Pay close attention to the sword we see a knight carry in the opening scene: it's Aragorn's sword from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was a gift to Viggo Mortensen by director Peter Jackson. Sweet! Viggo Mortensen actually grew up in Denmark. One of my sons is dating a lovely young woman from Denmark!
Vicky Krieps is such a classic actress and beauty. I hadn't seen her in anything before until "Phantom Thread" put her on the American Silver Screen. Viggo Mortensen wanted her in the movie because she was believable as a woman who would live in the 1860s. He said that not all actresses could pull it off. True.
The villains do a great job illustrating corruption and power: Danny Huston and Solly McLeod.
I didn't even recognize Garret Dillahunt in this.
The young Atlas Green is totally cute.
The name of the title in Spanish means "Until the End of the World". When she asks him why he went to San Francisco, he answered, "To see the end of the world."
We don't know how much time passes by. The only reference we have is when he tells someone that his wife died 12 years ago.
Lovely cinematography by Marcel Zyskind.
Viggo Mortensen's character explains that going to fight in the Civil War is the right thing to do, although he leaves his wife defenseless in a hostile town. Was that the right thing to do? We see him toss his Civil War medal over a cliff, letting us know he realized he made a bad decision.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
The movie has flashbacks and also jumps forward, so it get a bit confusing when trying to figure out the timeline.
Some will complain that nothing "happens" in the movie.
The run time is too long to say what it needs to.
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
We see bloody murders by gunshot.
We see a man hung for a crime he didn't commit.
An unmarried couple "goes at it" (we see them clothed)
A woman is **** (we only see the initial attack)
Kids will be bored.
Bullies
Some characters speak French, so English subtitles are used occasionally.
We also hear Spanish and Danish spoken.
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Occasionally stumbles along its well-worn path. Still, courtesy of [Mortensen] and Vicky Krieps’ excellent lead performances, it delivers moving measures of the genre’s beauty, brutality, and sorrow.
The measured pacing and an overly generous running time might work against the picture, but for the most part, it’s a rich, rewarding and fully fleshed-out drama.
It can be cute, playful and romantic, then turn dishearteningly violent as it serves up a generous sampling of what life on the untamed frontier could be like. It’s also frustrating in its lapses in logic, its cumbersome, shuffled and dream-infused structure.
Krieps has such a clear vision of who Vivienne is when she isn’t the object of romance, violence or intolerance. Her quirks and quiet dominance ultimately shift the film toward the direction Mortensen thought he was headed.
The Dead Don’t Hurt is stuffed to the gills with western tropes, with not a whole lot to add to the genre, especially in terms of furthering feminism onscreen. It may not be the worst western in the world in terms of women’s rights, but that is hardly a reason to commend a film that’s only missing the whore with the heart of gold.
The movie is slow but doesn't feel like it is (meaning it's not boring). The story is interesting and the interwoven timelines, although slightly confusing at times, helped to keep the story interesting. It kept you guessing at what or where the plot was at. It actually worked quite well in my **** acting is great from all involved although the characters of the city did come off as a bit one-sided. I didn't really mind though, as it helped establish the who's who early on so the plot could concentrate more on the main characters and their **** feels like a western that enjoys a certain amount of authenticity, but still manages to stay somewhat lighthearted. This made the grueling scenes stand out even more.Great movie.
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So lets do positives first. The movie does look amazing, with some incredible shots in truy epic locations. Its very interesting to see two non native people's perspectives. Do i integrate? Do i take up arms? The two main characters give amazing performances. However, the virtue signaling was really tiresome. Just vague, simplistic, boring villains that reveal their motivations through literally saying it out loud. Racist, check. Sexual assault, check. Corruption, check. Also im not sure what to make of the french dude hanging from a scarf. The lack of english captions also made some parts a bit tough to follow. I found the climax of the film very dissapointing. And a bit dumb. I didnt know the US army gives knife throwing lessons. I got the feeling that the moral of the movie is that the world would be better off if men just disappearared. Men are war mongers. Leaving their family to go to war not once but twice.
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Production Company
Talipot Studio,
Recorded Picture Company (RPC),
Perceval Pictures
Release Date May 31, 2024
Duration 2 h 9 m
Rating R
Awards
Directors Guild of Canada
• 1 Nomination