6.6/10
29,658
178 user 223 critic

The Homesman (2014)

14A | | Drama, Western | 18 May 2014 (France)
Trailer
2:19 | Trailer
Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy, who in turn employs low-life drifter George Briggs to assist her.

Director:

Tommy Lee Jones

Writers:

Tommy Lee Jones (screenplay), Kieran Fitzgerald (screenplay) | 2 more credits »
Reviews
Popularity
4,697 ( 1,621)
5 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tommy Lee Jones ... George Briggs
Hilary Swank ... Mary Bee Cuddy
Grace Gummer ... Arabella Sours
Miranda Otto ... Theoline Belknap
Sonja Richter ... Gro Svendsen
Jo Harvey Allen ... Mrs. Polhemus
Barry Corbin ... Buster Shaver
David Dencik ... Thor Svendsen
William Fichtner ... Vester Belknap
Evan Jones ... Bob Giffen
Caroline Lagerfelt ... Netti Svendsen
John Lithgow ... Reverend Alfred Dowd
Tim Blake Nelson ... Freighter
Jesse Plemons ... Garn Sours
James Spader ... Aloysius Duffy
Learn more

More Like This 

Certificate: 14A Adventure | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Ranch foreman Pete Perkins looks to fulfill the promise to his recently deceased best friend by burying him in his hometown in Mexico.

Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam
The Missing I (2003)
Certificate: 14A Adventure | Thriller | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

In 1885 New Mexico, a frontier medicine woman forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.

Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood
The Good Old Boys (TV Movie 1995)
Adventure | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

An aging cowboy must choose between his desire to remain free and the responsibilities of maintaining a family.

Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Terry Kinney, Frances McDormand
Certificate: 14A Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Director: Paul Haggis
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jonathan Tucker
Certificate: 13+ Crime | Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.

Director: John Hillcoat
Stars: Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, Emily Watson
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A detective in post-Katrina New Orleans has a series of surreal encounters with a troop of friendly Confederate soldiers while investigating serial killings of local prostitutes, a 1965 lynching, and corrupt local businessmen.

Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard
Action | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

At the end of the Civil War, a colonel hunts down a man with whom he has a grudge.

Director: David Von Ancken
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston
The Hunted (2003)
Certificate: 18A Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

An FBI deep-woods tracker attempts to capture a trained assassin who has made a sport of hunting humans.

Director: William Friedkin
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen
Forsaken I (2015)
Certificate: 14A Action | Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

In 1872, an embittered gunslinger named John Henry Clayton attempts to make amends with his estranged father Reverend Samuel Clayton while their community is besieged by ruthless land-grabbers.

Director: Jon Cassar
Stars: Esther Purves-Smith, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland
Certificate: 14A Crime | Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

In 1850s Oregon, the infamous duo of assassins, Eli Sisters (John C. Reilly) and Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix), chase a gold prospector and his unexpected ally.

Director: Jacques Audiard
Stars: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal
Certificate: 14A Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three women must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army.

Director: Daniel Barber
Stars: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington
Slow West (2015)
Certificate: PG Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.

Director: John Maclean
Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Caren Pistorius, Aorere Paki
Edit

Storyline

Three women who have been driven mad by pioneer life are to be transported across the country by covered wagon by the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy, who in turn employs low-life drifter George Briggs to assist her.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The untold story of The West.

Genres:

Drama | Western

Certificate:

14A | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mr. Carmichael of the Iowa pleasure house says - in the DVD closed captioning - to George Briggs at the gambling table, "Bank of Loup went bust. Happens all the time to South buster banks in the territory [at 1:50:55]." From the film sound track, one easily hears the correct words, "sodbuster banks". Sodbuster is a disparaging slang term for a farmer. See more »

Goofs

During the Indian attack, every shot of the carriage has mountains in the background. The road from Nebraska to Iowa is nowhere near any mountains. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Mary Bee Cuddy: [prodding plow horses] Come on, girls.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Film '72: Episode dated 19 November 2014 (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Weevily Wheat
Anonymous
Performed by Tommy Lee Jones
See more »

User Reviews

 
It's a hard film to watch, at times, but definitely worth it.
9 January 2015 | by HellmantSee all my reviews

'THE HOMESMAN': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Tommy Lee Jones directed, co-wrote and stars in this western/drama film (set in the 1850s midwest) about a 'spinster' and a 'drifter' transporting three women, driven mad by the hardships of the time, across the country. It costars Hilary Swank, Miranda Otto, Grace Gummer and Sonja Richter. It also features cameos by Meryl Streep, John Lithgow, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, William Fichtner and Hailee Steinfeld. The film was written by Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley Oliver and it's based on the 1988 novel, of the same name, by Glendon Swarthout. French filmmaker Luc Besson served as a producer of the movie and it also features a breathtaking music score by Marco Beltrami. It's surprisingly dark, and extremely disturbing, but I enjoyed it due to it's strong character development, outstanding performances and odd beauty.

Swank plays Mary Bee Cuddy, a strong and independent 31-year-old woman from New York. She desperately wants to find a husband but can't, due to men finding her too plain looking (I don't think Swank looks bad at all in this movie, considering the film's time and setting). When the local reverend (Lithgow) asks for someone to transport three women across the country, to a church in Hebron Iowa, Cuddy volunteers. The women (Otto, Gummer and Richter) are all mentally ill and the church will provide the special help they need. Cuddy comes across a drifter named George Briggs (Jones), who's about to be lynched for 'claim jumping', and asks him for his help (in return for saving his life). The two make the long journey together and form an odd bond.

The movie has been called a 'feminist western', by many, and I'd definitely agree it's a strong female character study, about the hardships women faced at the time. Swank is outstanding in the co- lead and Jones is just as classic and tough as ever; he does (unintentionally I think) steal some of the female cast's thunder. Jones also proves he's an equally talented director (once again) and the movie is full of beautiful visuals, as well as haunting imagery. For me the highlight of the film is the beautiful music and the touching relationships formed by the movie's central characters (it also has a shocking and unexpected twist, at the end of the second act). It's a hard film to watch, at times, but definitely worth it; if you're a fan of the genre or even if you're not.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://youtu.be/1_bZp5ejQ4I


61 of 77 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 178 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English | Danish

Release Date:

18 May 2014 (France) See more »

Also Known As:

Le chariot des damnées See more »

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,433, 16 November 2014

Gross USA:

$2,429,989

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,819,421
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed