Butcher's Crossing

I didn't really expect to like this film all that much. Sometimes in that situation you turn out to be right, sometimes you turn out to be pleasantly surprised. 'Butcher's Crossing' fell somewhere in the middle. I certainly enjoyed it more than I expected to, let's just say that.

The casting of Nicolas Cage is an interesting one. On the one hand, I didn't feel he was overly suited to the role. On the other hand, I felt his charisma brought a lot to the movie. And in a movie that is pretty desolate and grim, having a character/actor that you can enjoy and feel some familiarity with can go a long way.

I found myself a lot more interested in the story line than I expected. Generally old-time westerns do absolutely nothing for me. But the story here, simple as it was, kept me entertained and wanting to know what was around the next corner. 6.5/10.

I think that this movie achieves its aim in demonstrating to the audience the tragic wastefulness of nineteenth centuries bison hunting. It doesn't really touch on the racialized element in the destruction of bison, in that it was in part based on the belief that "one less buffalo meant one less Native American." But it does aptly portray the greed. It also portrays the monotony of hunting bison, which makes for a movie that is sometimes downright boring and repetitive. There is a lot of attention paid to accurate historical details and Nicholas Cage is excellent as the brooding, disturbed, obsessive Miller. Xander Berkeley also puts in a noteworthy performance. Overall, a powerful message wrapped in a somber and kinda dull film in the "we lost ourselves in the wilderness" genre. Worth the watch.

Seen this at the Borderlines Festival in Herefordshire. A good film, gritty, well made. Hard to watch at times due to the subject matter (if you like animals!).

Thought it showed the senseless slaughter of American Bison well, and the reasons for it. Well acted and well shot with interesting scenery, a good interplay between the lead characters. No particular twists or surprises, but all the better for it in my view.

One criticism would be it wasn't great on showing the timeline over the 6 months or so of the story. However, this is a minor point and I think overall the film is well worth a look. Hope you enjoy!

A great Nic Cage movie.

Beautifully shot with a brooding soundtrack, Butcher's Crossing delves in to the psychology of the hunter.

At one point in the show it really does look like the film is going down the road of Apocolypse Now. The dark man becoming darker as he gets lost in his hunt, making irrational decisions as he can now only obsess about one thing. However it pulls up before fully exploring this particular heart of darkness.

Cage is fantastic. He applies rare restraint in the delivery of his character allowing the story to do most of the work.

Its a very enjoyable film exploring a regretable piece of history, not to be missed :)

This was a nice surprise of a great story with solid directing and a great cast. The dp work is amazing yet it's not a casual premise for the light hearted esp any Vegans.

It is phenomenal to see Nick Cage back in great films especially after another gem like Pig and now this western script that merits his talent as he carries the film as its star with a superb supporting cast.

The Montana landscape is epic in its splendid beauty and the true sadness and brutality of mankind's hunt for bison in 1800s is one of disgrace yet another tragic tale that has to be seen to fully comprehend the mania of some hunters.

Kudos to the director and loved the music score also.

Looking forward to more Cage films

A solid 7 stars.