Sheridan’s latest film not up to his quality
Taylor Sheridan’s latest film not up to his quality but still compelling
Since turning his attention from acting (“Veronica Mars” and “Sons of Anarchy”) to writing (“Sicario” and “Hell or High Water”) and directing (“Wind River”), Taylor Sheridan has made a real impact on the entertainment world through those border-line excellent films.
Also the co-creator of the popular neo-Western series “Yellowstone,” Sheridan returns to the big screen with “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” set for a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max.
Starring Angelina Jolie, the Sheridan-directed thriller set in the forest wilderness of Montana has his appealing sensibilities running through its veins.
On the other hand, it also features enough gaps in logic to become a little distracting. Too often you ask yourself, “Why would Character X do that?” And the answer is “So Character Y has a way out of this predicament.”
Perhaps that can be pinned largely on Michael Koryta, author of the 2014 novel of the same name and a co-writer of the screenplay along with Sheridan and Charles Leavitt (“Blood Diamond,” “K-Pax”). (According to the film’s production notes, Sheridan wrote the script based on an early version from Leavitt and Koryta.)
Regardless, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” survives this issue thanks in part to a low-key but compelling performance by Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted,” the “Maleficent” films).
Jolie portrays Hanna, a smokejumper who hasn’t mentally gotten past her failure in recent years to save three people from a fast-moving fire. Relegated to a fire tower she refers to as a “20-by-20 box on stilts with no toilet,” Hanna punishes herself in ways that include a dangerous stunt involving a parachute jump from the back of a pickup truck. That’s just the kind of the thing her ex, sheriff’s deputy Ethan (Jon Bernthal, “Wind River”), warned her and her comrades about as they were embarking on a day of exercises.
“What are you gonna do,” she says to Ethan after the stunt, “arrest me?”
Cut to her sitting in the back of his squad car.
Far away from there, a forensic accountant Owen Casserly (Jake Weber, “Medium”), having led a government-backed investigation into some very bad people, has reason to fear for his life and flees his home with pre-teen son Connor (Finn Little). Ethan is the brother of Owen’s late wife, and the latter decides to head the former’s way for help.
The Casserly gents are hunted by two capable killers, Jack (Aidan Gillen of “Game of Thrones”) and Patrick (Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”), who commit one very deadly deed early on in “Those Who Wish Me Dead.”
They track him to the largely mountainous and tree-covered land of Montana, but Connor evades them. As they search for him, the boy encounters Hanna, who wants to help him and, eventually, is able to gain his trust.
The scenes shared by Jolie and Little (“Storm Boy”) are enjoyable, particularly one in which he trumps her in an unintended contest involving whose life is sadder. The quickly developed bond between their characters grounds the film as their characters are squeezed by killers on one side and a ferocious blaze on the other.
Bernthal, whose extensive credits also include “The Walking Dead” and “Ford v. Ferrari,” also helps “Those Who Wish Me Dead” maintain its ability to keep you invested.
It’s a testament to Sheridan’s abilities that the grim goings-on never overwhelm the film. Yes, you’ll have to swallow a few things that keep the story moving, but it’s not the most bitter of tastes.