News of the World (2020) Movie Review
Paul Greengrass is best known for his action movies. The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum are a master class in shooting action scenes, in particular fight sequences. Greengrass revolutionized the way fighting scenes are done and if you haven’t seen the Bourne movies, do yourself a favor and watch them. Greengrass wrote and directed News of the World, which is a bit of a departure from his normal genres. It’s an interesting take on Westerns, especially because it stars Tom Hanks who is not the first person I’d think of when I think of a Western.
News of the World follows Captain Kidd (Tom Hanks), a veteran of the Civil War who travels from town to town reading the news. The year is 1870 and Texas is still reeling from the aftermath of the Civil War. It’s also still a bit rough and tumble with an “every man for himself” type of feeling. As Kidd makes his way to the next town he happens upon a wagon that has been ransacked, a black man who has been lynched, and a young girl who is now unaccompanied. The girl’s name is Johanna (Helena Zengel) and a Union army patrol instructs Kidd to bring her to a checkpoint where they will sort out her paperwork.
Johanna’s back story is complex. Her parents and siblings were killed in a Kiowa raid. She was then taken by the Kiowa’s and raised as a Kiowa, so she doesn’t speak English or her native tongue of German. When her wagon was ransacked, she was on route to her aunt and uncle’s, her only remaining kin. At the checkpoint, Kidd is informed that the Bureau of Indian Affairs Representative will be gone for three months. Kidd must make the choice to abandon Johanna or take her himself. He (of course) decides to take Johanna himself. The rest of the movie involves Kidd and Johanna traveling the treacherous road to her aunt and uncle’s house. They are met with danger after danger and find themselves in some perilous situations.
Unable to communicate, Johanna and Kidd are resigned to having minimal conversation. But there’s a quiet understanding between the two of them, despite not being able to understand each other. Hanks (as usual) performs admirably. He has the nice guy bit down extraordinarily well. Helena Zengel makes quite an impression, holding her own in scenes with Hank and giving Johanna a wisened perspective on life. Their chemistry is perfect, in spite of the fact that they share only bits of dialogue with each other. Zengel’s expressive face, more than makes up for her language lack.
To Greengrass’ credit he crafts a thoroughly entertaining movie here. One scene in particular sees Kidd and Johanna on the run from three ex-Confederate soldiers who want to buy Johanna. The ensuing chase and standoff is thrilling and Greengrass proves he can once again hit the right beats when action occurs. The cat and mouse game of Kidd versus one soldier was choreographed and filmed for maximum tension and suspense, and it’s worth watching News of the World for this scene alone.
Of course, there are problems with News of the World. It is crafted incredibly carefully, to avoid any political stance one way or another. You see the carnage inflicted by both the Civil War and the strained relations between white people and Native Americans, but it isn’t really explored. Greengrass doesn’t want to touch politics with a ten foot pole. Instead of turning the Western genre’s ideology on its head, Greengrass relegates it to the background. It’s a journey film, and that’s all it strives to accomplish. It works out that it accomplishes this goal handily and provides an entertaining but shallow examination of the period directly after the Civil War.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like Westerns
2. You like stories set in the 1800’s
3. You love Tom Hanks
