Western Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Western

Two individuals in cowboy attire standing in a desert landscape.
Review

National Anthem review – maintains a bold sense of hopefulness

by Emily Maskell

An intro­vert­ed 21-year-old sup­port­ing his fam­i­ly with man­u­al labour finds a new com­mu­ni­ty in a queer rodeo group in Luke Gil­ford’s charm­ing take on the western.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Silhouetted carriage drawn by galloping horses in an open field, with a cloudy sky in the background.
Review

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 review – Kevin Costner’s blood, sweat and tears

by Isaac Feldberg

In the first half of his epic pas­sion project, Kevin Cost­ner charts a cost across the vast expanse of the Amer­i­can west.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A man in a cowboy hat sitting on a crate beside a horse, holding a book.
Review

The Dead Don’t Hurt review – elegiac and tenderly romantic

by David Jenkins

Vig­go Mortensen’s som­bre take on the west­ern evokes some clas­sic Clint East­wood films.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two men in a dimly lit room, one wearing a red shirt and the other a suit. Vintage-style lamps and antique furnishings can be seen in the background.
Review

Strange Way Of Life review – characteristically Almodóvarian queer western

by Hannah Strong

An age­ing gun­slinger and the sher­iff of a small town reunite after many years in Pedro Almod­ó­var’s sweet short film.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A woman in period clothing standing outside a wooden cabin, holding a rifle.
Review

The Drover’s Wife

by David Jenkins

Leah Pur­cell writes, directs and stars in this vio­lent psy­cho­log­i­cal west­ern about a Bush­woman defend­ing her lone­some patch.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two men wearing cowboy hats conversing by candlelight in a dimly lit room.
Review

The Power of the Dog

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Jane Campion’s claus­tro­pho­bic, slow-burn west­ern dials up the queer sub­text of Thomas Savage’s source novel.

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two masked figures on horseback in a Western setting, wearing cowboy hats and bandanas over their faces.
Review

The Harder They Fall

by Cheyenne Bart-Stewart

Jeymes Samuel’s supreme­ly vio­lent revenge thriller is a bold and bloody rein­ven­tion of the movie western.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A man wearing a black cowboy hat and a grey waistcoat, standing against a red background.
Review

Cry Macho

by Charles Bramesco

At 91, Clint East­wood deliv­ers a low-slung neo-west­ern charmer about an old dude tak­ing one final shot at redemption.

5
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Horse-drawn wagons and people on horseback in a dusty desert landscape, with mountains visible in the background.
Review

News of the World

by Charles Bramesco

Tom Han­ks sad­dles up for a clas­si­cal­ly-styled west­ern about a Civ­il War vet­er­an who res­cues an orphaned girl.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two adults, a man and a woman, standing and sitting on a hill overlooking a landscape.
Review

Let Him Go

by Leslie Byron Pitt

Kevin Cost­ner and Diane Lane ven­ture across state lines in search of their grand­son in this slow-burn western.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Review

The Sisters Brothers

by Hannah Strong

Joaquin Phoenix and John C Reil­ly sad­dle up for direc­tor Jacques Audiard’s light­heart­ed western.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A man in a wide-brimmed hat playing an acoustic guitar whilst sitting on a horse in a desert landscape.
Review

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

by Adam Woodward

Joel and Ethan Coen’s six-part anthol­o­gy west­ern might just be the crown­ing achieve­ment of their illus­tri­ous career.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect