Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: December 25, 2020
Running time: 118 minutes
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
It’s funny when you watch a trailer , you either know you are going to like the movie or you don’t. When I first saw the trailer to “News of the World”, I thought to myself this might not be a movie for me. When I see something that Tom Hanks is starring in I usually see it without even thinking twice but a Western didn’t really seem to catch my attention. “News of the World” reunites Hanks with Paul Greengrass for the first time since their 2013 Best Picture nominee Captain Phillips. This duo makes for cinematic gold. This is film that has grown on me since watching it and I have a feeling I will be having a repeat viewing very soon. It is such a pleasant surprise when you find a film that you really enjoy and that grows on you after watching it.
Tom Hanks delivers yet another fantastic dramatic performance. Alongside his young co-star Helena Zengel, who also does an amazing job in her English language film debut. I hope to see more of her as she develops her career in film. Throughout this film, it follows the two of them as they form a great relationship even with not being able to communicate together. I really enjoyed how it develops over the near two hour running time. The film is a little slow paced but delivers some excellent tension and action throughout. You find yourself sitting on the edge of your chair at certain parts for sure. Usually I am not a big fan of Westerns but this one definitely delivers.
Official Premise: Five years after the end of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks), a veteran of three wars, now moves from town to town as a non-fiction storyteller, sharing the news of presidents and queens, glorious feuds, devastating catastrophes, and gripping adventures from the far reaches of the globe. In the plains of Texas, he crosses paths with Johanna (Helena Zengel), a 10-year-old taken in by the Kiowa people six years earlier and raised as one of their own. Johanna, hostile to a world she’s never experienced, is being returned to her biological aunt and uncle against her will. Kidd agrees to deliver the child where the law says she belongs. As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two will face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place that either can call home.
The filming took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico and let me tell you that it is a beautiful location. Some of the landscapes in the film really are stunning. The film opens up into some amazing shots of New Mexico. Top that we an amazing score from composer James Newton Howard and we get easily a contender for one of 2020’s best films of the year. 2020 has been a hell of a year for the film industry but this one definitely stands out above the rest.
“News of the World” is an adaptation of a novel by Paulette Jiles and after watching this film, I am definitely interested in checking out the book that it was based on. This film definitely reminds me that I need to be open minded when I watch a trailer and believe that a film could have a good life outside the trailer. Let’s just say that if the Oscars do happen next year, that Hanks has a very good shot at that Best Actor award…if for nothing else he should be nominated because this role is definitely worthy of it. Come this Christmas day, I would highly recommend that you head out to your local theaters (hopefully it is open) and see this film on the big screen!