The Dead Don't Hurt (2023) User Reviews

The Dead Don't Hurt

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 6 March 2024]

Despite the fact that the plot has plenty of holes, this western just about works. It's all about the determined "Vivienne" (Vicky Krieps), very much a woman in a man's world of pioneering in the 1860s. She encounters the honest and thoughtful "Olsen" (Viggo Mortensen) and travels to his remote, and rather ramshackle, shack where they begin to make an home for themselves. He takes a job as their sheriff and she, a little to his chagrin, starts working in the saloon. He is restless, though, and with the American civil war looming large, he decides that he ought to use his Danish army training and go enlist. She's not enamoured of the idea, but off he goes and that leaves her alone and firmly in the sights of spoilt local "Weston" (the rather un-menacing Solly McLeod). When "Olsen" returns from the war quite a few years later he is presented with a few shocks! Subsequent events take an even more tragic turn, and now he must face his demons and settle accounts. This is a grand looking romantic drama that takes it's time to get going and that allows Krieps to invest strongly in the maturing elements of her character. That he would just saunter off for years and leave her alone and unprotected does beggar belief a bit, and there's no denying that does negatively impact on the plausibility of what, rather obviously, comes next. Still, there is enough meat on the bones of the story, an effectively sparing amount of dialogue and a soupçon of chemistry between the two at the top of the cast that gives some indication of just how tough and lawless life was and at how difficult it was to be decent!

Beautifully genuine

[christina-delimitrou · 10/10 · 5 October 2023]

I had really enjoyed "Falling" as well, Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut, but this film is a step up. It admittedly does not target as heavy a subject as his previous film, but it is written, directed, and acted (by the whole cast, especially the leading actors) beautifully. The cinematography and music are really thoughtfully put together as well, and do a good job capturing the 19th century look, without coming across as contrived. Glad to see Viggo going from strength to strength. I hope the film is recognized for the great work it is. Fun to get a glimpse of Anduril as well :) Highly recommended.

"There are moments we return to in time."

[Blue-Grotto · 9/10 · 3 December 2023]

Vivienne and Holger enjoy silences together and recognize in each other kindred souls. He is a carpenter and she is a fiercely independent flower seller and gardener. They support one another even though they do not always agree with what the other does. They get along so well with a mixture of humor, straightforwardness, and erotic pleasure. Settling in the wilderness of Nevada they enjoy life tending gardens, building homes, and swimming nude beneath waterfalls. This is until the Civil War starts and Holger enlists. Vivienne, alone, can stand up for herself better than most, but being left with a violent spoiled son of a rich rancher may be more than she can handle.

"There are moments we return to in time," said director, composer, writer, and lead actor Viggo Mortensen at the Toronto International Film Festival. He said that his mother was inspiration for this "feminist western." Little Viggo was fascinated by the stories and music of the movies his mom took him to. He didn't intend to take the lead part, but when the man originally hired to take the role stepped out, Viggo took the opportunity. Vicky Krieps (Vivienne) told him to take the part.

This compelling and cute western romance concentrates on select moments of the couple's relationship and jumps back and forth in time. While The Dead Don't Hurt seems rushed at times, I really enjoyed the story, the experienced actors, and the dreamy romance between two lovable characters. The filmmakers even got the birdsongs right (cactus wrens, native to Nevada, warble in the background).