The Western genre has always been a place for Hollywood to explore dark and gritty stories, from classics like The Gunfighter to masterpieces like Unforgiven. Delving into the tragic cycle of violence that defined life in the American West, these tales are character studies devoted to the gunslingers, settlers, and criminals of the frontier. The last decade has excelled in delivering some of the most harrowing Wild West pictures ever made.
A genre renowned for its revenge stories, outlaw antiheroes, and sharp writing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many of its best tales are also some of its darkest. The last decade has certainly been a rough patch for the Wild West on the big screen, but a handful of gems show modern filmmakers know what they’re doing.
Horizon: An American Saga Shows the Horrors of Western Settlement
After leaving Yellowstone, Kevin Costner finally brought a decades-old passion project to life when he produced, wrote, directed, and starred in Horizon: An American Saga. Set amidst the Civil War, it follows various perspectives within the frontier, from a horse-trading gunslinger to the settlers seeking to tame the West. In essence, it seeks to tell a biopic of the West itself, more interested in the grander story of civilization and struggle than any one character. It doesn’t take long for the director to explore this, beginning with a devastating raid on the town’s first residents.
Horizon sets out to remind its audience of the tragedy, brutality, and violence that went into settling the West, highlighting the hardships of pilgrims and Native Americans alike. Costner’s epic is actually a quiet remake of golden age revisionist films like The Searchers and Shane, assembling them all into a single narrative. It has its emotional highs and lows, but deserves praise for refusing to hold back in showing the bloodshed and violence common to the frontier.
The Sisters Brothers Is A Bleak Exploration of the West
The Sisters Brothers focuses on its titular outlaw siblings, Eli and Charlie, as they’re hired by a wealthy man known as the Commodore to kill a stranger he claims stole from him. At the same time, another of the employer’s henchmen, Morris, finds the target, with whom he later forms a bond. Now at odds with the brothers, they set out for California, only to encounter violence along the way.
The Sisters Brothers‘ darkness is more in its somber mood than in the fates of its characters, though it doesn’t spare them hardship either. The overlooked picture offers Western fans an emotional journey to the goldrush frontier, escalating in its third act to embrace the rough side of its genre. With stars like Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal turning in some of their best work, the heart and soul comes from what its characters are forced to endure, and how they fare from it.
In A Valley of Violence Is the John Wick of the Wild West
In A Valley of Violence begins when a mysterious drifter named Paul rides into the desolate town of Denton with his loyal dog at his side. When he fights the vile son of the local lawman, he makes an enemy, something he regrets after the murder of his dog. With vengeance in his heart, he rides back to even the score, using his gunslinger skills to leave every man who crossed him dead.
In A Valley of Violence is a clear love letter to spaghetti Westerns like the Dollars Trilogy, but delights in making the genre far more brutal. Essentially a John Wick remake tailored to a Tombstone audience, it’s among the best revenge flicks of the 2010s, and proof that Ethan Hawke belongs in the genre. Despite being overlooked at the time of its release, it’s gradually earned a reputation as one of the best gunslinger movies made since the 2000s.
The Nightingale Is A Cynical Revenge Thriller
The Nightingale transports viewers to the Australian West, where a convict named Clare Carroll works for a British colonial officer. When she tries to improve the circumstances of her family, Lt. Hawkins assaults her, eventually murdering her husband and infant. With nothing left to lose, she sets out to avenge them, encountering an outcast Aboriginal man seeking his own form of frontier justice.
A chilling reminder of the cruelty that was often at the heart of colonialism and conquest, The Nightingale is an unforgiving revenge piece that offers little hope to its audience. Exploring oppression from two different perspectives, it gives viewers unfamiliar with its setting an insight into the helplessness of enslaved and colonized people. A meatpie Western sure to remind people of bleak movies like The Proposition, it’s best for people who like their films dark and brutal.
Hostiles Is the 21st Century Answer to The Searchers
Hostiles focuses on American-Indian Wars veteran Joseph Blocker as his commander tasks him with protecting an old enemy, Yellow Hawk, on his journey home to Wyoming. Slowly dying, the Cheyenne chief brings out the worst in the deeply prejudiced and traumatized cavalry officer. However, when they realize their trek is fraught with danger and enemies, they slowly set their differences aside to survive the elements.
Best described as the 21st-century answer to The Searchers, Scott Cooper’s grounded epic is a showcase of all the perils that could kill a man on the frontier. Its strength comes from its character dynamic between Blocker and Yellow Hawk, two former enemies whose shared struggle allows them to overcome their rivalry. A story that strips prejudice down to its core for a heartbreaking journey, Hostiles is the single greatest Western made in the last decade.