I often state that I don’t have a least favorite genre. I enjoy all kinds of filmmaking and storytelling styles, but that doesn’t mean I have the same knowledge and experience with every genre. Westerns, for example, perhaps due to the lower number of annual new releases, aren’t films one easily finds in theaters every week. With The Thicket, I broke that pattern. Since I wasn’t familiar with the work of director Elliott Lester (Aftermath) or screenwriter Chris Kelley, it was Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Juliette Lewis (Yellowjackets) who grabbed my attention for this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale.
The Thicket follows a bounty hunter, Reginald Jones (Dinklage), who’s hired by a desperate young man, Jack Parker (Levon Hawke), to rescue his sister, Lula Parker (Esmé Creed-Miles), from the hands of a ruthless criminal, Cutthroat Bill (Lewis). With the help of unlikely heroes like a former slave and a prostitute, the group embarks on a dangerous journey to find Bill, which takes them to a region of impossible survival known as… The Thicket.
At its core, it’s a typical rescue story set in a time when lawlessness prevailed and in a harsh winter environment, with snow surrounding the characters throughout the movie. The Thicket is clear in its main theme of searching for a sense of belonging, whether a family or a home. The protagonists, particularly Jones and Bill, are on opposite sides, but the similarities in their past traumas and the constant discrimination they’ve faced due to their appearance or stature are greater than their differences – if there are any at all.
The Thicket takes Jones through a transformative arc, starting as a simple bounty hunter driven by money and ending as someone who genuinely cares about innocent people just looking for a safe life. Meanwhile, Bill remains more mysterious until the end, which highlights one of the screenplay’s main issues. Kelley’s script lacks depth in its characters, and the abundance of unnecessary secondary storylines, which fail to deliver the intended emotional impact, diminishes opportunities for more meaningful development of the main arc.
Even the primary story relies heavily on the captivating performances of Dinklage and Lewis, who show their prowess as renowned actors. While there isn’t much action – or gunfights, for that matter – what action exists is far from innovative or filmed in a manner that delivers notable entertainment levels. In fact, the majority of the more gruesome, bloody moments happen off-screen, with the camera diverting from this potential for brutal intensity whenever violence escalates.
That said, the Western atmosphere is palpable. Whether it’s the suspense before a gunfight or Guillermo Garza’s on-location cinematography – the landscapes of Calgary, Canada, are stunning – The Thicket features the technical attributes worthy of the genre it represents. Apart from the disappointing choice of setting for the third act’s climax, Lester knows how to use the surrounding environment to create a more immersive experience. It’s just a shame there isn’t enough substance in the exploration of individual character arcs and the themes presented.
Final Thoughts
The Thicket is a Western that, despite offering an authentic atmosphere and strong performances from Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis, fails to fully explore its narrative and thematic potential. The lack of character depth and unnecessary subplots detract from the emotional impact of the main story, and Elliott Lester doesn’t deliver particularly memorable action set pieces. Guillermo Garza’s immersive cinematography retains some of the charm characteristic of classic Westerns, but it may not be enough to win over fans of the genre.
Rating: C+
The Thicket is now in theaters.
You might also like…
