Former Oscars staple Hilary Swank fits capably into the role of stiff and stern pioneer woman Mary Bee Cuddy, described frequently as "plain as an old tin pail". Tough independent women don't exactly make good marrying material in the Nebraska frontier, and poor Cuddy has been alone her entire life, practically begging men to marry her and finding no takers. Her loneliness has one terrible upside, though; she doesn't turn out batshit crazy like many of the married women forced to deal with sexually abusive husbands or the incredibly high death rate for children. Three such women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) have gone loopy and since none of the men are willing to do it, poor single Cuddy volunteers to transport them to a psychiatric facility in Iowa. It's a dangerous weeks-long journey by wagon, so it's a good thing she happens upon goofy claim jumper George Briggs, rescuing him from a sure hanging for his past crimes.
Briggs is both the best and worst thing about the film. He might as well be a cartoon character; rootin' and tootin' and dancin' with his finger pistols up in the air like Yosemite Sam. He's absolutely ridiculous and lord knows the film needs what little humor he provides, but at the same time we're meant to take him and this deadly journey seriously. Jones seems unsure of the tone he's aiming for and it lurches wildly from comedy to bleak melodrama with images of dead babies, rotting cattle, and women wailing in despair. The deranged female cargo, all played by spectacularly talented actresses, don't get much to do but stare blankly so there's no real reason to tell them apart. The relationship between the plainspoken Cuddy and Grimes resembles the central pair in True Grit, and there's even a brief cameo by Hailee Steinfeld who had her breakout role in the Coen Brothers' remake.
If this was meant to be an exercise in female empowerment The Homesman chooses an odd way to go about it. Cuddy's personal strength is her greatest asset but it's frequently played up for strangely-timed laughs, just as her desperation for a man is. The journey, which has them encountering angry Native Americans, a rapist nutjob (Tim Blake Nelson), starvation, and desolate surroundings begins to put her mettle to the test, and to say Cuddy's story is a somber one would be an understatement. The screenplay by Jones and a pair of co-writers are intent on making her tale as sad as possible, and the turn it takes comes out of nowhere, presumably so the focus can shift even further to Briggs. Just as nonsensical is the change in his character from clownish rogue to avenging angel to unlikely father figure; it only serves to take the attention away from the plight of women, casting them fully into the background. Jones is clearly comfortable in the genre, though, taking his old school cinematic cues from the likes of John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. But The Homesman is a complete mess from start to finish. It's both too dark and too silly, and is unlikely to satisfy fans of contemporary or classic Westerns. Rating: 2 out of 5
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