Patreon banner
Patreon banner
Matt's Movie Reviews logo
HOME REVIEWS PODCAST FEATURES TOP TEN VIDEO TOP MOVIES ABOUT
Facebook logo Youtube logo Linkedin logo Reddit logo Instagram logo MeWe logo RSS logo
Apple Podcast logo Spotify logo Google Podcasts image Amazon logo Podbean logo Stitcher logo
OLD HENRY (2021)
Old Henry poster

CAST
TIM BLAKE NELSON
TRACE ADKINS
MAX ARCINIEGA
BRAD CARTER
STEPHEN DORFF
SCOTT HAZE
GAVIN LEWIS
KENT SHELTON
RICHARD SPEIGHT JR.

WRITTEN BY
POTSY PONCIROLI

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
JOHN MATYSIAK

EDITED BY
JAMIE KIRKPATRICK

MUSIC BY
JORDAN LEHNING

PRODUCED BY
MICHAEL HAGERTY
SHANNON HOUCHINS

DIRECTED BY
POTSY PONCIROLI

GENRE
THRILLER
WESTERN

RATED
AUS
:MA
UK:NA
USA:NA

RUNTIME
99 MIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Old Henry image

Tim Blake Nelson delivers a career best performance in Old Henry, a character driven western of compelling style, engaging storytelling, and ingeniously crafted filmmaking by writer and director Potsy Ponciroli.

From Peter Lore to Steve Buscemi, cinema history has been graced with many unique faces. Tim Blake Nelson has as unique a face as they come, a tool in his vast repertoire that he uses to commanding effect whether in a comedy (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) or a drama (Just Mercy.)

In Old Henry, an intimate western set in 1906 that is written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli (Super Zeroes), Nelson transforms himself again to play the role of Henry, a farmer whose face presents a weariness, grit, and beady-eyed suspicion of a world not to be trusted.

Widowed and raising his son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis), Henry toils on his isolated farm located on Oklahoma Territory. That is until the discovery of an outlaw shot, left for dead, and carrying a satchel of money, brings with him all matter of hell in the form of brutal bank robber Ketchum (Stephen Dorff) and his posse, leading to a showdown on the prairie.

With Old Henry, Ponciroli has created a western of high stakes and intense emotion, orchestrating a stand off between a righteous yet complicated man trying to protect his son, and a group of dangerous criminals whose greed knows no bounds. Filmed in Tennessee, the film features beautiful photography by John Matysiak (I’m Not Ashamed), as well as a mourn-filled score by Jordan Lehing (The Dead Center) who captures the danger, dread, and sadness of this western tale.

A small cast are all terrific, with special mention to the ever-dependent Stephen Dorff who excels as a chiselled jawed, smooth talking, and brutally violent outlaw who is without remorse.

Old Henry, though, belongs to Tim Blake Nelson’s fantastic performance of crusty grit and salt of the earth demeanour, a man of experience who, under the surface, bubbles violent tendencies true in aim and brutal in delivery. Throughout the films 99-minute runtime we witness a transformation in Henry both subtle and powerful, as the layers strip away to reveal his true self in all of his pistol firing glory.

Ponciroli’s blend of western mythos with character driven drama and action thrills is masterful in execution, with Old Henry a movie that reminds of the alluring power of the American western and Tim Blake Nelson’s standing as one of the best character actors working today.

****1/2

RELATED CONTENT
Cry Macho image Buckley's Chance image

.
APPROVED CRITIC AT
Rotten Tomatoes Logo

Created and Edited by Matthew Pejkovic / Contact: mattsm@mattsmoviereviews.net
Logo created by Colony Graphic Design / Copyright © Matthew Pejkovic

Patreon banner
Patreon banner