Viggo Mortensen's second outing as a writer and director is a Western tale starring Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and Mortensen...
Viggo Mortensen's second outing as a writer and director is a Western tale starring Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and Mortensen as an immigrant couple trying to make their way in 1860s California. Co-starring Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt and Solly McLeod, the film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
'Mortensen’s narrative structure... frontloads the lawlessness and mayhem we expect from a western, then gradually introduces the tenderness and moral integrity that give this film its true raison d’être. Framed in a style that emphasises the relationship between character and landscape... this is a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men.' (TIFF).
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Where to watch The Dead Don't Hurt
86 %119 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
64 %53 reviewsAudience score rating
"Vicky Krieps electrifies in Viggo Mortensen’s stirring romantic western."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"Heart-wrenching."
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The Times
The Times"Viggo Mortensen reinvents the western."
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The Telegraph
The Telegraph"Sinewy, sombre, handsomely crafted and beautifully shot."
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The Guardian
The Guardian"A handsome passion project."
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The New York Times
The New York Times"Subverts western tropes as readily as it embraces them."
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Total Film
Total Film"Beautifully photographed... but without stealing attention from what is, at heart, an actor’s piece."
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Financial Times
Financial Times"A tender love story and a subversive western."
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NPR
NPR"Elegiac and tenderly romantic."
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Little White Lies
Little White Lies"Captivating framing drives this lyrical, romantic western."
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Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader"Vicky Krieps and Viggo Mortensen make a convincing and engaging couple."
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Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine"Ultimately, the didacticism of Viggo Mortensen’s film lets it down."
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Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine"Feels less epic than perfunctory."
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IndieWire
IndieWire"Mortensen’s enlightened approach (is) fairly refreshing."
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Variety
Variety"The pacing is what you would call "slow" if you don't like the movie, "deliberate" if you do."
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RogerEbert.com
RogerEbert.comThe Dead Don't Hurt | Details
- Rating
- M, Mature themes, violence, coarse language, nudity and sexualised imagery
- Runtime
- 130
- Genre
- Drama, Western
- Country of origin
- Canada, Denmark, Mexico
